Reece Walsh scored a hat-trick as Australia beat Samoa 44-12 in Sydney on Sunday to reach the Rugby League World Cup final, where New Zealand await in Brisbane next weekend.

The reigning champions ran in eight tries at a sold-out Sydney Football Stadium, with Tom Dearden, Jacob Preston, Tom Trbojevic and Bradman Best joining Walsh on the scoresheet before half-time as Australia opened up a 26-2 lead. Jack Bostock added the eighth try late on, and Cameron Munster kicked six goals.

Walsh was at the centre of everything, for better and worse. His first try, on 32 minutes, came after he raced through the smallest of gaps on the left, and he celebrated with a backflip. Early in the second half he dropped a high ball to gift Stephen Crichton a try for Samoa, but he answered almost immediately with a try of his own, then completed his first international hat-trick after Izack Tago had crossed for Samoa.

Samoa, who reached only their second World Cup semi-final, were left fuming at several refereeing decisions in a fractious rematch of the 2022 final, which Australia won 30-10. A fiery pre-match Siva Tau ended with players forehead to forehead, and the tension carried into a match Samoa could not control once errors and ill-discipline crept in.

Australia, who have won the past three world titles, will face New Zealand in Brisbane on Sunday 15 November, with kick-off at 08:35 GMT. New Zealand beat Tonga 34-10 in the other semi-final on Saturday. Victory for the Kangaroos would give them a fourth consecutive title and a record-extending 13th crown. Reuters reported the 41,529 crowd as a sellout.