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As Australia and New Zealand prepare to resume hostilities in this weekends Four Nations rugby league final, history, form and the UBET odds all point heavily in favour of a Kangaroos victory.The Kiwis will be armed with a strong weapon though - albeit a weapon they would prefer not to have.Tragedy can invoke some very powerful emotions and in times of hardship, people are often inspired to achieve goals that may otherwise seem forlorn.The recent earthquake in New Zealand has shocked the world, especially the Kiwi rugby league team, but this will provide additional motivation as they attempt to lift their nations flagging spirits.?Former New Zealand captain Gary Freeman told ESPN that the tragedy is sure to provide added inspiration for the players but they must be able to handle it correctly.When you throw so much emotion into this game it can go against you, Freeman said.I think theyll be motivated more from last weeks poor performance against Scotland.The boys would know themselves that they can play better.It would seem that the Kiwis have little to be confident about heading into the game - they have already faced the Kangaroos on three occasions this year; losing all three, conceding 56 points and scoring just 14 across 240 minutes of football.I always remember an old coach of mine Warren Ryan saying, the more losses you have, the closer you are to your first win, Freeman said.This is the number one game, this is the game the Kiwis have to win and theyll have to step up to the mark.The Kiwis understand that a win over old rivals Australia will provide a small slice of happiness to the grief-stricken people in their homeland, but Freeman believes pride in their own performance will be motivation enough.I think theyll be motivated from last weeks poor performance against Scotland. The boys would know themselves that they can play better, Freeman told ESPN.As an ex-player, we drew some games and lost some games against opposition that we knew we shouldve beaten and the following week wed stood up to be counted.People only remember the last game and the only game theyre going to remember out of this whole tournament is this final game.Lewis Brown, Jordan Rapana and Joseph Tapine originate from the earthquake affected areas and although their families are safe and well, Freeman expects them to lead from the front for the Kiwis at Anfield.But the man affectionately known as Wiz believes the biggest advantage New Zealand have is psychological; the Kiwis have won on three of the past four occasions when meeting Australia in a final.However, sport doesnt always go to script and in what has been the year of the underdog, New Zealand will privately consider themselves a serious chance of reclaiming the Four Nations title.Absolutely, the Aussies will be trying to rectify, but if Ireland can beat the All Blacks then we can beat Australia. Freeman said.In reality, the Kiwis are probably fortunate just to be in the final - their only win of the tournament was a less than convincing one point victory in their opening match against England.New Zealand have limped into the final after an 18-all draw with minnows Scotland; an embarrassing result which was ultimately the difference between preparing for the final or preparing for a flight home.It wasnt their greatest match against Scotland, but sometime that can lead you into a false sense of security when youre the Australian side, Freeman told ESPN.Have the Aussies peaked too early? Have they produced their best game one before the big one? Theyve done that previously.You have to remember, New Zealand are the world champions and they will stand up to be counted.In the Kangaroos camp though, confidence couldnt be higher; they have stormed into the final undefeated and racked up an impressive 104 points while conceding just 38; but Freeman pointed out that it will mean absolutely nothing unless they come out on top in the final 80 minutes of the tournament.It doesnt really matter whats happened before. Its whats going to happen this weekend, Freeman said.All of the people back home in New Zealand will be up watching so theres a lot on the line for our boys; theres a lot on the line in this game.A strong start is vital to New Zealands chances and how they harness their emotions in the opening 20 minutes could prove decisive in the outcome of the match.New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich identified the 2013 World Cup final as an example of why it is so important for his side to be on their game from the opening whistle.Australia ambushed the Kiwis on that occasion by jumping out to a healthy halftime advantage before going on with the job in the second half to thrash New Zealand 34-2 at Old Trafford.If theres anything weve learned, its probably about our start. They came out really hard there, blew us off the park really early and we just couldnt find our feet after that, New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich said.Its a big ask against Australia, theyve got a very big forward pack. But its something weve been working on, and hopefully we can show that on Sunday.Australia Kangaroos: TBANew Zealand Kiwis: TBAVenue:?Anfield, LiverpoolKick-off: 1.30am AEDT, Monday 21st November, 2016.Key Stats:New Zealand have won three of the last four tournament finals when playing Australia. (2008 World Cup, 2010, 2014 Four Nations)Australia have a 74 percent winning record against New Zealand (Played 133, Won 98, Lost 32, Drawn 3).Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Greg Inglis are unbeaten on UK soil in?14 Tests.UBET verdict:$1.25 Australia, $4.00 New ZealandAustralia has been the standout team in the 2016 Four Nations tournament and will deservedly start heavy favourites to regain the title and rugby leagues world number one ranking from New Zealand.But despite advancing to the Anfield showpiece undefeated, Mal Meninga and his men will know that the campaign will be considered a monumental failure if they dont finish the job this weekend.Everything points to a Kangaroos victory but favourtism brings a degree of pressure and they will also have their hands full dealing dealing with an emotion-charged Kiwi side motivated by the recent earthquake tragedy in New Zealand.The Kangaroos should still have too much skill and class for the Kiwis but this encounter promises to be the most even contest of the previous three theyve already played this year.Weather:?Liverpool is expecting scattered showers throughout the day with a temperature of 6 degrees for kick-off.Prediction:?Australia by 8.Black Friday Nike Shoes .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Discount Nike Shoes https://www.fakenikeshoeswholesale.com/ .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Cheap Nike Shoes . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Fake Nike Shoes . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4.(Sports Network) - The well-rested Chicago Blackhawks will get back to work tonight, as they host the rival Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at the United Center. Join us tonight and get updates from TSNs hockey personalities with TSN.cas Game Night blog on the TSN GameTracker beginning at 8pm et/5pm pt. The top-seeded Blackhawks ousted Minnesota in five games during the opening round and havent played since beating the Wild by a 5-1 score last Thursday. Although the series ended with a lopsided win, the Presidents Trophy winners had to work hard earlier in the first round. The Blackhawks needed overtime to win the opener against eighth-seeded Minnesota and even lost Game 3 in OT before eventually closing out the series in five. After a 3-0 win in Game 4 and the 5-1 decision in the series clincher, the Blackhawks wound up outscoring the Wild by a 17-7 margin in the series. Chicago wore down the Wild in Round 1 thanks to its superior depth at both ends on the ice. The deep roster includes plenty of familiar faces from the Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship team of 2010. Forwards Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland and defensemen Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson all helped Chicago lift the Cup three years ago and head coach Joel Quenneville can lean heavily on that postseason experience this spring. Sharp and Hossa paced Chicago with six points apiece in the opening round. Sharp, who had 11 goals during the Blackhawks title run in 2010, notched five goals and one assist against Minnesota, while Hossa had three goals and three helpers. Every Chicago forward who played in all five games during the first round registered at least a point and nine of those players had at least two points. The Blackhawks also will get centerman Dave Bolland back for the start of Round 2. Bolland missed the entire first series with a lower-body injury, but is ready to go for Game 1 against Detroit. Chicago said on Wednesday that Viktor Stalberg will not play in Game 1. Coach Joel Quenneville says its a "coachs decision" and Stalberg could get back on the ice at any point in the series. He says he has talked to Stalberg about the decision to bench him for Wednesday nights series opener. Stalberg, one of the fastest skaters on the team, has been working outside of the top four lines in practice, so the move was not a complete surprise. But Stalberg had nine goals and 14 assists in 47 games this season, then had a big assist and a plus-2 rating while playing all five games in the first round against Minnesota. Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford had a terrific start to this years playoffs, posting 1.32 goals against average and .950 save percentage over five games. The 28-year-old is now 9-9 with a 2.11 GAA in 19 career playoff games. Crawford started 28 games for Chicago in the regular season, while 19 starts went to Ray Emery, who was unavailable in the first round due to a lower-body injury. However, Emery, who posted an amazing 17-1-0 record this season, is ready to backk up Crawford at the start of this series.dddddddddddd Emery is 20-15 with a 2.57 GAA and .903 save percentage in 36 career playoff games. The Red Wings fought hard to make the playoffs for the 22nd straight season in 2013 and the seventh-seeded club proved it still belongs there with an upset of Anaheim in Round 1. Although Detroits seventh-place finish in the West is the clubs worst seeding since it last missed the postseason in 1989-90, the Red Wings knocked off the second-seeded Ducks in seven games during this years conference quarterfinals. The Red Wings now find themselves in the conference semifinals for the sixth time in seven seasons after getting bounced out by Nashville in the opening round last spring. Detroit used a balanced scoring attack and timely stops from goaltender Jimmy Howard to outlast the Ducks in seven games. The Red Wings had six forwards post two or more goals in the battle against Anaheim. Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen led the way with three goals each, while Pavel Datsyuk, Daniel Cleary, Damien Brunner and Justin Abdelkader notch two goals apiece. Zetterberg led the Red Wings with eight total points in the opening round and Datsyuk finished with seventh. This is Zetterbergs first postseason run as captain after he inherited the "C" following Nicklas Lidstroms retirement last summer. The loss of Lidstrom still looms large on the blue line for Detroit, but the club did finish fifth in team defense this season with just 2.29 goals per game. Howard had a busy series in net for Detroit in the conference quarters, as he faced an average of 32 shots per game against the Ducks. In the end, Howard posted a 2.74 GAA and .911 save percentage over the seven games and he proved his worth in close games, recording a 3-1 record in the four tests that went to overtime. The 29-year-old Howard is 17-18 all-time in the playoffs with a 2.65 GAA and .914 save percentage. Chicago won all four meetings in this years season series and has claimed seven straight against the Red Wings overall. Three of the four encounters between the clubs ended after regulation, while the other contest was a 7-1 rout in Detroit on March 31. That blowout loss represented a season-high in goals allowed for the Red Wings, who have dropped nine of their last 10 games against Chicago. "Its going to be fun to play them again," Zetterberg said. "They had our number in the regular season, so its going to be a challenge for us. Weve played better the last 10 games." Chicago, which also gets to host Game 2 on Saturday, was 18-3-3 at the United Center this season before going 3-0 in home games in the opening round. Detroit was 11-9-4 as the guest in the regular season and split four games in Anaheim in the conference quarters. The Central Division and Original Six foes also have met 15 times in the playoffs and Chicago has taken eight of those series. However, Detroit has taken the last two postseason encounters, including a five-game series win when the franchises last met in the playoffs in the 2009 Western Conference finals. ' ' '