ELLIOTT WHITEHEAD knows it will be tough and niggly — but he is sure England have what it takes to beat Australia.
If they defeat the world champs for the first time in 21 years tomorrow, England will make the Four Nations final.
Even a draw will be enough after Scotland’s shock 18-18 draw with New Zealand last night.
But with players like Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston in the Aussie ranks, it could be easy to be overawed.
Former Bradford man Whitehead, 27, now comes up against them every week for NRL side Canberra and he knows the talent in a white shirt is just as good.
He said: “We’ve got some of the best players in the world.
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“It’s fair to say we haven’t performed so far, but there have been times we’ve shown we can do it.
“The NRL is a more intense game.
“It’ll give them a head start — yet we are more than capable of beating them. We’ve not performed at our best but hopefully we can get it right now.
“Australia will look at our video and see some of the things we’ve done — and they will be scared.”
KEVIN BROWN is in line for a dramatic England recall in the unfamiliar role of hooker.
The Widnes stand-off has not featured since the warm-up win over France — his first international appearance in six years.
But he is in the squad for tomorrow’s game at the London Stadium. James Graham and Gareth Widdop also return.
ENGLAND SQUAD: Bateman, Brown, G Burgess, T Burgess, S Burgess, Clark, Cooper, Gale, Graham, Hall, Hill, Hodgson, Lomax, McGillvary, Percival, Watkins, Whitehead, Widdop, Williams.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD: D Boyd, Holmes, Dugan, Inglis, Ferguson, Thurston, Cronk, Scott, Smith, Woods, Cordner, Gillett, Merrin, Klemmer, Morgan, Frizell, Thaiday, S Boyd, O’Neill.
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