Australia completed their clean sweep of Pool 1 with an emphatic victory over a gallant Papua New Guinea in Townsville on Sunday.
Debutant David Williams bagged a hat-trick while Joel Monaghan and Scott Prince each crossed twice in a polished display.
The lop-sided scoreline failed to reflect the wholehearted display from the Kumuls which was highlighted by Menzie Yere's late try.
Australia must now await the result of Monday's semi-final qualifier between Ireland and Fiji with the winner to face the tournament hosts in Sydney next Sunday for a spot in the final.
Needing to win by more than two points to progress to the semi-finals, Papua New Guinea began with fervour but soon found themselves on the back foot when winger David Moore fumbled ten metres out from his own line.
Moore, though, made amends, defusing a dangerous kick from debutant Terry Campese to deny the hosts first points.
But Ricky Stuart's men would not be denied when half-back Johnathan Thurston delivered a pinpoint cross kick for right-winger Williams to cross on debut after nine minutes.
Thurston slotted the extras home from the sideline for an early 6-0 advantage.
Williams appeared to claim his second try in as many minutes when Karmichael Hunt put the Sea Eagles flyer into space only to be denied by referee Steve Ganson who ruled a forward pass.
Fellow Sea Eagle Anthony Watmough also looked certain to score soon after when he burst through the heart of the defence and set sail for the line but a desperate ankle-tap from Moore denied the back-rower a try on debut.
Having weathered a fearsome storm, the Kumuls finally surrendered in the 22nd minute when Monaghan out-muscled two defenders to double the lead.
The onslaught continued five minutes later when Australia exploited an overlap to send Monaghan over for his second score - Thurston's third sideline conversion made it 18-0 in favour of the hosts.
A short kick-off paid dividends for the Kumuls, who finally got their hands on the ball deep in Kangaroos territory, but their joy was short lived when Williams strolled over untouched five minutes from the break to make it 22-0.
The floodgates threatened to open three minutes into the second period when Scott Prince picked off an ambitious pass from Hull KR pivot Stanley Gene to stroll over under the posts.
To their credit, PNG continued to press. But the Australian defence was up to the task and quickly turned the tables when Williams sprinted 60 metres.
Some desperate cover denied the in-form flyer a hat-trick on debut but the Kangaroos took advantage of the opportunity when Thurston found Prince for his second try and a 34-point cushion.
Williams was rewarded for his brilliance after 69 minutes when he raced down the touchline to secure his third try and cap a dramatic rise since making his NRL debut this season.
The Kumuls were finally rewarded for their spirited efforts seven minutes from time when local product Yere won the race to a clever grubber kick to the delight of the crowd.
Australia had the final say when Anthony Tupou scored to seal an entertaining 46-6 triumph.
