Plenty
has been said of England’s failure to reach this Final so I won’t bang on about
it here. All I will say is that I was
deeply disappointed with the way the second half panned out. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt we
still had a chance of winning the game when the lads went in for half time
despite the disappointment of falling further behind thanks to the boot of
Jonathan Thurston.
Maybe I
just share his slightly pessimistic view on the game but I read Gary Schofield’s
thoughts on the game in Rugby Leaguer and
League Express earlier this week and I have to say that I totally agree
with him on everything he said. He’ll
get a lot of stick for it no doubt but he’s clearly a very passionate England
supporter and, like all of us, would like to see England be able to compete
with the best on a regular basis.
I also
believe that Wayne Bennett will be the man to lead England to next year’s World
Cup but there has to be a clearly visible improvement in the team’s performances
between now and then if they are to have any hopes of beating the top two sides
in their own back yard.
Personally,
just an appearance in next year’s World Cup Final would be an improvement and would
show some sign of progression from our national team. Actually winning the tournament though is
still a just a pipe dream.
I must
admit, I felt Anfield was an odd choice to stage a rugby league final. However, the fact it can hold almost 55,000
spectators, and it is second only to Old Trafford in terms of capacity in the
north west, AND almost double to size of any Super League ground in the country,
I eventually came round to the idea of it being a good choice.
At least
the RFL decided to host the Final within the rugby league heartlands and didn’t
have any grand ideas of taking the game anywhere else for a change. It should provide a good atmosphere for as
the fans will be very close to the pitch and it will be interesting to see
which of the two sides the crowd supports in the absence of a British team.
I found
it interesting to read this week that the pitch will be shortened to just over
90 meters instead of the regulation 100.
That should make the kicking games tough for both sides and it will be
interesting to see how many errors are made by either team in that
respect. It could come down to who makes
fewer errors with the boot as to who eventually wins the game.
This will
be my first Four Nations Final so I’m hoping for a much closer game than the
last time I saw these opponents contests a final - the World Cup Final at Old
Trafford three years ago!
AUSTRALIA vs NEW ZELAND
(Sunday, 20 November, Anfield, Liverpool, 2:30pm)
Australia
The
Kangaroos have breezed their way into this weekend’s final with a perfect
record of three wins from their three games and will no doubt be odds on
favourites with the bookies to win their third Four Nations trophy.
There is
no question that Australia have been the best team in this competition but,
worryingly for Mal Meninga’s side, New Zealand have been the team that have
come closest to beating the them. I
still believe Australia will be too strong for the Kiwis and should win the
game comfortably.
As an
England fan I was sucked into that warped belief that the “Wall Of White” might
actually hold out against the Kangaroos after that first 25 minutes or so, but
as soon as Australia got a whiff of the grass behind that not so solid wall
they took full advantage and were able to open the proverbial floodgates and
wrap the game up with three converted tries in 12 blistering second half
minutes.
Australia
have huge strength in depth and the fact they will be without Sam Thaiday won’t
be a problem as they have enough players to step in and take his place. It’s expected that Shannon Boyd could make a
return to the 17 in his place after missing out against England.
With
Jonathan Thurston set to retire after next year’s World Cup this will be his
final swansong on English soil for his country so the three-time Golden Boot
winner will be keen to end on a high and I expect him to be pulling the strings
for his team throughout Sunday’s match.
As you’ll
see from my prediction below I expect the Kangaroos to win the game and retain
the trophy they last won in 2011 and with it the number one spot in the world
rankings.
New Zealand
David
Kidwell’s players could not need a better reason to prove themselves after
their shock 18-18 draw with Scotland last Friday. If Scotland had have been able to hold on and
snatch victory in that game New Zealand wouldn’t have even been in this Final
as England’s 18 point defeat to Australia would still have been enough for them
to sneak into Anfield through the back door.
Ironically
it was probably the defeat to Australia in Coventry which saw the Kiwi’s best
performance. If they show anything like
the kind of performance they pulled off in the final ten minutes or so of that
game they will be in with a real shout of beating the Aussies.
Thomas
Leuluai will be absent for the Kiwi’s this weekend after picking up a knock
against Scotland, but it will be up to their main man Shaun Johnson to have an
outstanding game from the off and captain Jesse Bromwich to lead from the front
if they want to become the first side to win back-to-back Four Nations.
The New
Zealanders also have the added bonus of knowing how to beat Australia in big
games as well. I wouldn’t read into the
fact they have been unable to overcome their Antipodean neighbours in any of
their three meetings so far this season.
We just have to look at the two Four Nations finals that the Kiwi’s have
won in the past and the World Cup Final in 2008 to know that we shouldn’t write
this side off.
However,
the Kiwi’s have never fared particularly well in big finals played in the
Northern Hemisphere and I have a hunch that this will be no different.
MY PREDICTION – Australia to win by 8+ points
