Sam Thaiday has warned New Zealand they’ll face a very different Kangaroos side in rugby league’s Four Nations final to the one they “jumped” in their tournament opener.

Veteran second rower Thaiday said on Tuesday the forwards took personally the pummelling they received from the Kiwis in the 30-12 loss in Brisbane a little over two weeks ago and were bent on making amends in the decider in Wellington on Saturday.

After a narrow win over England and a dominant 44-18 win over surprise packets Samoa, coach Tim Sheens’ new-look Kangaroos believe they are now gelling, have picked up valuable momentum and are far better prepared to claim the title.

“(We are) totally different – we’ve had a couple of tough games, and we wanted to nail a few things against Samoa,” Thaiday told reporters.

“We’ve come a long way since that first game in Brisbane.”

Down on size and fielding some make-shift frontrowers, the Kangaroos were overpowered by the Kiwis in Brisbane as the likes of Jason Taumololo, Tohu Harris and Kevin Proctor made increasing in-roads with surging runs.

Sheens has since beefed up his pack, introducing Bulldogs prop David Klemmer and also using Canberra powerhouse Josh Papalii up front, allowing Thaiday to play a more familiar role.

Thaiday had no doubt where the problem lay in the first game against the Kiwis.

“We got jumped, 12-all at halftime and it was anyone’s game,” he said.

“They rolled over us in that second half, and it all started through the middle of the field.”

The Kangaroos had a recovery session in Wellington on Tuesday morning, taking time to observe a moment’s silence just after 11am (NZT) to mark Remembrance Day.

The last time the two sides met in Wellington was in 2007, when the Kangaroos won 58-0.