Australian Kangaroos superstar Reece Walsh has defended his forward pack after the Aussie engine room has fallen under fire during this year's World Cup.
The Kangaroos' middles came under question during their match-up against Fiji, prompting Roosters coach and tournament commentator Trent Robinson, as one example, to speak out.
“Australia got outmuscled by Fiji and they did by New Zealand last week,” the four-time premiership-winning coach said in commentary during the second week of the tournament.
“It doesn't matter what halves pair you play … can they win the forward battle? Can they create enough of a platform?
“Australia needs to muscle up more than what they did in the first two Tests. They need to get a hell of a lot better there.
“They were losing in the 60th minute, not just in the 20th minute. Fiji outmuscled them in how they carried the ball and how they tackled.”
But Walsh has defended his big boys after plenty of noise has been made across the tournament
"I feel like our forward pack's been disrespected a lot this tournament," Walsh told NRL.com.
"There's a lot of talk about the other teams. They're great players. They're awesome players, don't get me wrong.
"But the way that this pack works their arse off for us, they're the reason why we're winning these games and the reason why we're working so hard. The passion they play with and the hard work, the kick chase, the small details."
Walsh has been an outstanding contribution to the Kangaroos lineup when appearing in the green and gold, including five try assists last week against the Cook Islands.
Despite his incredible individual efforts, he was all praise for his forward pack laying the foundations and the work they put in behind the scenes.
"It's something that the fans and you guys (the media) probably don't see, but we see and that's one thing I see with these other teams," he said.
"When they're looking at us, they know the strengths that we bring. All credit to them, they're awesome packs but I love these boys and how hard they work because those little efforts... we appreciate them so much."
Despite Australia coming into the semi finals undefeated, they are yet to have reached their ceiling and are building with each game under their belt.
One enforcer in the Australian pack Liam Martin believes there's still an extra gear in the Kangaroos lineup ahead of their semi final this weekend.
“We all know that we haven't played our best game, but the really exciting thing is we know we've got so much improvement in us, so if we bring our best game, I don't think anyone can match us,” Martin said to foxsports.com.au.
“You've got to have that mentality of taking it to them and when people criticise you and say that you know they've got it over you. We take it pretty personally.”
Australia will host Samoa in a blockbuster knockout match at Allianz Stadium on Sunday night for a place in the final.
