Aussies to give England silent treatment
There'll be no World Cup revenge but Australian hooker Cameron Smith says the opportunity to silence 40,000 English fans will provide all the motivation required in Saturday's Four Nations final.
The Kangaroos were denied the chance to reverse last year's shock 34-20 World Cup final loss to New Zealand when the Kiwis went down to hosts England 20-12 at Huddersfield last weekend.
But while the tournament won't see the top two ranked sides go head to head in the final, it will almost certainly be a sellout with England's presence set to push the crowd beyond 40,000 at Elland Road.
And that according to Smith will make replicating the 26-16 preliminary round win over England - when the home side fought back from 26-0 down - twice as hard to replicate.
"I guess we were a little bit surprised by the result, we probably thought the Kiwis were going to get up there," Smith said.
"But I guess seeing what they produced against us in the second half and the fact they were playing for a home final, I guess it's not that surprising.
"It will be even tougher at Elland Road, there's going to be 40,000 there, not the 20,000 that were in Wigan - they've got double the support they had there and when they get a roll on they can be tough to stop."
While England's win over New Zealand may have surprised Smith, Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens said he had already begun making the necessary preparations after forecasting an upset.
"I picked them over a week ago after we played them, I said this side can go on," Sheens said.
"No-one else in the camp believed me, but I've had a few people come to me and say 'you were right'.
"The conditions suited them, they were building and I think playing at home they've got a lot of pride."
Sheens said he would wait until Wednesday to name his side for the final, admitting he was hoping to keep the entire squad on their toes by delaying the announcement for as long as possible.
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