Tonga defeated New Zealand 28-22 in the Rugby League World Cup Saturday in Waikato Stadium in Hamilton.

Despite being the home team, New Zealand found itself dealing with a vocal cadre of Tongan fans, and a punishing Mate Ma'a offensive thrust.

The teams were fairly equal in several areas. Here's the post-match stat breakdown.

Meanwhile, the big stat for David Fusitua was 3 - the number of tries he scored, which earned him Man of the Match honors. Fusitua was born in New Zealand, but his parents now live back in Tonga and he spoke about how proud he was to represent his country.

"I was just trying to dig deep for the boys ... there wasn't much time left on the clock. I was just trying to leave everything out on the field for them," Fusitua said after the game, referring in part to his third try, which turned a 24-22 scoreline into a more comfortable 28-22 line with just a couple of minutes remaining. 

New Zealand led early, punishing Tongan penalties and mistakes to leads 16-2 at the break. Tonga could have clawed a little closer but a possible try was called back for a forward pass. That moment, instead of breaking Tonga hearts, harbingered a very different second half.

Fusitua scored on a 6th-tackle kick, and then on a nice cutback, and after that Tuimoala Lolohea anticipated a New Zealand pass perfectly and galloped 30 meters for a pick-six, and Tonga led 18-16.

Ben Murdoch-Masila cut through moments later and set up fullback William Hopoate on the inside for a try and a 24-16 lead. New Zealand answered, but Fusitua put the icing on the cake, and Tonga, for now, is on top of the Rugby League world.