Four Nations Final...Teams, Scores etc....

[Geo]

**Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens picks Luke Lewis for second-row in Four Nations final selection shock**
By Andrew Webster From: The Daily Telegraph November 13, 2009 7:10AM Source: The Daily Telegraph
KANGAROOS coach Tim Sheens has sprung a selection shock for the Four Nations final against England with Luke Lewis chosen as a likely starter in the second-row.
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And in a further twist, Lewis's Penrith teammate Michael Jennings remains firmly in the mix to play in the decider at Elland Road in Leeds on Sunday morning.
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Sheens has chosen a six-man bench that includes props David Shillington, Brett White and Sam Thaiday, back-rower Anthony Watmough, utility Kurt Gidley and Jennings.
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"I've told him to keep his shorts ready," Sheens said of Jennings, who scored three tries against France in Paris last weekend. "He is still in the mix. He could either start or be on the bench. He's a matchwinner and conditions might make it a yes or no (about selecting him)."
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Watmough and Gidley are tipped to play, but Sheens wants to wait up until kick-off to assess the weather conditions. If it's a cold, wet Leeds night, he could go for four forwards on the bench to combat England's enormous pack.
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"If it's wet, and there's issues, we may pick a slightly different side," Sheens said. "There's every chance to try and match their size - that's a concern, also to use Jennings' speed. That's not taking the fullback out of the equation, young Gidley, who played really well, I thought, last week.
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"I've got to cover the halves and the hookers. I don't think I can leave Gidley out under those circumstances. He just covers too many options, and you can't count on not having a hiccup for some reason.
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"If the conditions got really really dour, you might get away without a Gids and use a bigger bench. It will be played at night, so it will be a little dewy. There's lots of things to consider. I've told the six-man bench there could be some tweaking."
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The major shock, however, is the decision to start Lewis in the second-row, alongside Paul Gallen. After missing the opening match against New Zealand, the versatile Lewis has been used off the bench in the wins against England and France with great effect.
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Australian team: Billy Slater, Jarryd Hayne, Greg Inglis, Justin Hodges, Brett Morris, Darren Lockyer (capt), Johnathan Thurston, Ben Hannant, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Luke Lewis, Paul Gallen, Nathan Hindmarsh. Interchange: David Shillington, Sam Thaiday, Anthony Watmough, Kurt Gidley, Michael Jennings, Brett White (two to be omitted)
Source: The Daily Telegraph

 

[Guest]

Pity Farah wasn't selected but at least he'll return home without injury.

 

[alex]

A Sheens special. Again. He wont last more than 2 years as the Australian coach.

 

[G_Strombolli]

Sheens is a weirdo. Why he bothers with the 'this guy can cover X and Y position but this guy can cover X, Y and Z position' stuff I don't understand. Surely he won't play Jennings off the bench, so I don't know why he makes the effort to mention it. He'll either be in the team for Hodges or out of it.

Unlucky for Robbie but no real surprise - not that I agree with the inevitable Gidley selection.

 

[parrramattaPRICHY]

i would rather see jennings not get ommited but gidley can cover more positions and could fill in four halves outside backs hooker

 

[Prohmy]

a match of two comparisons, england have the better pack, australia far superior backs. Cronk and Farah may have been decisive, but that's pure speculation now, should be a great game.

 

[Guest]

GARETH'S READY TO RIP INTO KANGAROOS
Thursday, 12 November 2009

Gareth Ellis, the world’s best second-rower, is raring to rip into the Kangaroos in the Four Nations final this weekend.

He spoke to Wests Tigers Media Officer Wayne Cousins about the final, playing against his Wests Tigers captain Robbie Farah, to returning to Concord Oval.

Wests Tigers thank Gareth, Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah for giving the club and its supporters an insight into the Four Nations tournament.

WC: Is this Gareth Ellis the tryscorer? Perhaps you need to bring some English soil back if it means you will score for Wests Tigers?

GE: Yes, it was nice to finally get a try after such a long time. Hopefully it won't take as long for the next one to come along. I need to pull my finger out next year in that area.

WC: How was it playing against Robbie Farah. How did you rate his Test debut?

GE: It was great to see Robbie in the green and gold. It was well deserved and I was very pleased for him. It is a special moment any time you play for your country but the first one is extra special as it is a reward for all the hard work you put in to get there.

WC: Last weekend’s Test against the Kiwis was a fiery encounter. Did you feel the platform was laid on the back of the strong second half comeback against Australia the week before?

GE: Yes, although we didn't get carried away with that second half performance as we still lost the game. I think it has set down a marker for the way we should play. At this level, we can't wait to see what the opposition throw at us before we start to perform. I think we restored some pride in the England jersey over the course of that 40 minutes and installed some self-belief in ourselves which kick started our competition.

WC: What do England need to do better to get on top of the Kangaroos?

GE: Australia has a few players that can score tries from anywhere on the field, so that’s the challenge for us. We need to limit their opportunities and not allow them to get a roll on whilst maybe getting a roll on of our own. There hasn’t been a game in this competition yet that hasn't been physical so that’s something both teams will be wanting to dominate over during the course of the game.

WC: Take us through the feeling of playing in front of the English crowds. When you are winning, you hear plenty of singing. As we saw against Australia, they booed England off the field after the first half performance?

GE: To be fair, they had a lot to be angry about. The English crowds are very vocal with lots of singing and chanting and have even been known to have a few instruments in the crowd. The booing at half-time was more of a ‘here we go again, another English side getting thumped by Australia’. I think they have had enough of being second best or worse on the international stage or maybe that’s what I was thinking at half time along with the rest of the team. We turned up to play in the second half.

WC: How is Gareth Ellis feeling heading into his final match for 2009 after a demanding season in the NRL?

GE: I’m feeling very good. Games like this don't come along very often and I feel privileged to be apart of this game. It is a massive opportunity for us. It may feel like a long season for most but this year playing in the NRL has been quite refreshing in terms of how many games I've played. I have felt the benefits of having an eight week pre-season in the build up to the 2009 season. The Super league boys will have played around 35 games this year with their season starting way back in late January, so it doesn't leave much time for pre-seasons unfortunately.

WC: When do you return to pre-season training at Concord to begin preparing for your second season with Wests Tigers?

GE: I'll be having a few weeks at home after the final, spending time with the family and catching up with friends before my partner, Rachael, and I head back. It would have been nice to spend Christmas in England but Rachael is now 28 weeks pregnant, so we couldn't leave it too late to fly back or the baby could be born in Bangkok. The weather has now turned for the worse here. I have had to scrape the ice off the car’s windshield the past couple of mornings.

WC: Finally, you were this week named the world’s best second-rower by the Rugby League International Federation. Congratulations on the award.

GE: Whilst its always an honour to receive awards, rugby league is a team sport so a lot of the credit has to go to the players who play alongside me. I’ve had a really enjoyable year on and off the field which is the best marker for me to assess how I’ve gone this season, although I can think of one more thing that would just make this year a little better!

 

[Geo]

England unchanged for Four Nations final
November 13, 2009 - 11:03AM
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England announced Thursday an unchanged team for Saturday's Four Nations final against Australia here at Elland Road.
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Australia-born coach Tony Smith has backed the side that beat New Zealand 20-12, in what was effectively a semi-final last week, to defeat the Kangaroos.
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Smith's decision sees 20-year-old duo Sam Tomkins and Kyle Eastmond retained as the half-back pairing with Kevin Sinfield the hooker in a starting 13 featuring four specialist props.
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England team to play Australia in the Four Nations final at Elland Road on Saturday.
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(1-13)
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Shaun Briscoe, Peter Fox, Chris Bridge, Michael Shenton, Ryan Hall, Sam Tomkins, Kyle Eastmond, Adrian Morley, Kevin Sinfield, James Graham, Jamie Peacock (capt), Gareth Ellis, Sam Burgess
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Interchange: Eorl Crabtree, Jon Wilkin, Ben Westwood, James Roby

 

[Guest]

Australia defeat England 46-16 in Four Nations final at Elland Road

From Steve Jancetic in Leeds, England
November 15, 2009

Billy Slater atoned for his moment of madness in the 2010 World Cup final with a piece of brilliance to secure Australia the Four Nations trophy with a 46-16 win over a gallant England in Leeds.
Slater scored a second half hat-trick but it was the fullback's effort to set up Melbourne Storm teammate Cameron Smith which defined his match-winning performance.

Slater, whose errant pass infield cost Australia the World Cup, juggled and then acrobatically tapped the ball back infield for Smith to pounce on the crumbs and give Australia a 28-16 lead with 12 minutes remaining.

The Kangaroos ran in a further three tries to leave a scoreboard which hardly did England justice, the home side much better than the 30-point margin indicated having deservedly led 16-14 ten minutes into the second half.

As anticipated the match got off to a rugged start with Adrian Morley doing his best to knock Ben Hannant back to Sydney with the first tackle to send the already fever-pitch 31,042 crowd into a frenzy.

The hosts had the better of the opening exchanges but it was Australia who looked like they had scored when Brett Morris went over in the corner, only for the video referee to rule he had lost the ball thanks to a brilliant Shaun Briscoe covering tackle.

If England were rattled they weren't showing it, especially not Sam Burgess who gave NRL fans a taste of things to come with a barnstorming 40-metre run that made a fool of Slater and produced a 6-0 lead to the home side.

Now it was Australia who were rattled, and Burgess again created havoc only to ignore support runners for what looked a probable try.

Instead a Johnathan Thurston intercept sent Greg Inglis galloping upfield, and two plays later Brett Morris, who had been switched to the right wing to give Jarryd Hayne more ball on the left, went over for his fifth try in just four Tests.

England wasted little time in regaining ascendancy when Peter Fox did what no player had been able to do during the back half of the NRL season as he out-jumped Hayne to a Kyle Eastmond bomb to make it 10-6 after 19 minutes.

Typifying the contest Australia came back again, a delicate ruck play putting Hayne in space, and in his first meaningful impact of the tournament, the international footballer of the year kicked ahead for Inglis to score, though there were serious doubts over his grounding of the ball.

A Thurston penalty goal extended the advantage to 14-10 at half-time after he was chopped down after kicking ahead, but that man Burgess came back to haunt the visitors again.

After spending the first ten minutes of the half camped on the Australia line, a cross-field running Gareth Ellis found a straight running Burgess who crashed over in front of a boisterous south stand to put England back in front 16-14.

Having worked so hard to get back in front, England coach Tony Smith would have been devastated with the ease with which they gave it up - Australia up by a converted try before the hour after a soft dummy-half dive over from Slater was backed up by Morris completing his double as he chased down a Thurston kick in the corner.

A serious head injury to England centre Michael Shenton then held up the game for several minutes and took some of the momentum from the game, until a piece of Slater magic sealed the deal with 12 minutes remaining.

 

[Guest]

Slater hat-trick gifts Four Nations title to Australia

Glenn Jackson | November 15, 2009 - 8:35AM
LEEDS: Australia, and its villain-to-hero Billy Slater, erased the demons from last year's World Cup - as much as humanly possible anyway - as the Kangaroos won the Four Nations tournament in Leeds.

Slater scored a hat-trick in the 46-16 victory over England, and set up a try for his club, state and country companion Cameron Smith as his side powered home late against a gutsy but eventually out-classed opposition.

In front of 31,042 at Elland Road, Slater's brilliance was the difference - a year after being the man charged with throwing away the World Cup against New Zealand.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Slater, who scored all three of his tries in the second half. His effort, too, to bat the ball back infield for Smith following Darren Lockyer's kick, gave the Australians breathing space. From there they ran away with the win.

The scoreline flattered the Kangaroos slightly; they were only really able to assert their dominance in the final quarter.

If the Australians thought they were going to waltz through the English in the opening half hour as they did in Wigan two weeks ago, then any complacency would have been shaken out of them, via Ben Hannant, in the first tackle. Adrian Morley clattered into the Kangaroos prop; he and his team meant business.

England dominated the opening minutes, yet it was the Australians who went closest to scoring first. Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens had gone ahead with his plan to switch his two wingers around to give Jarryd Hayne more ball, but strangely enough it was the right side of Justin Hodges and Brett Morris which received the largest share of possession in the opening minutes.

Cameron Smith's smart work after nine minutes, shifting to the short side, ended with Morris, who was hit in a solid tackle by English opposite Ryan Hall, just failing to ground the ball in the corner. From the next set, England surged downfield, and Sam Burgess showed some wonderful footwork to first step past Petero Civoniceva and then fool fulback Billy Slater to score the first try. With Morris's close call, it was a 12-point play.

The Australians were rattled, and Smith's kick off sailed over the dead-ball line. England should have had a second try as a result, with Burgess trying his luck with the dummy again instead of finding an unmarked Sam Tomkins. Shortly afterwards, Hodges's quick hands sent Morris over again and he made no mistake this time in the second 12-point play in just a few minutes.

Try as he might, Hayne was again struggling to get involved. His only real involvement of the first quarter was one of the more unfortunate variety, with England winger Peter Fox out-leaping him from Kyle Eastmond's smart kick to give England the edge again.

It came after a curious call from the New Zealand referee Leon Williamson, who called held on Civoniceva when he clearly wasn't. Civoniceva ran on and the penalty was awarded. The Australians complained but still they were still caught napping for the try.

Finally, after 25 minutes, Hayne broke the shackles, but he almost butchered a try after a neat inside ball from Thurston set him loose; Hayne had Slater looming inside but he instead chose to kick, and only Greg Inglis's brilliance saved the play. There was significant doubt over whether the Melbourne centre grounded the ball but video referee Phil Bentham, gave him the benefit of the doubt and the Kangaroos had the lead.

The Kangaroos lost Justin Hodges to injury after the half-hour mark, and Sheens was forced to alter his side by bring his utility Kurt Gidley on at centre. But it failed to halt Australian momentum, and Johnathan Thurston edged the Kangaroos ahead with a 31st minute penalty goal, after Ellis had hit the halfback late, giving the Australians a 14-10 lead which they took into halftime. They would not hold it for long after the break though. Ten minutes into the second half, it was Burgess, the new South Sydney recruit, who found the line again.

It was becoming a tit-for-tat contest, and sure enough, Slater darted over from dummy half after 54 minutes. The Kangaroos broke away further in the 59th minute, when Morris scored his second try following Thurston's pin-point chip. Hayne, though, could take a fair deal of credit; it was his quick play-the-ball which set the English defenders hurrying backwards, allowing Thurston the time and space to kick for his winger.

The contest was held up for several minutes after English centre Michael Shenton was involved in a sickening collision with prop Ben Hannant. The pair clashed heads and Shenton was carried off after five worrying minutes, although he was sitting up in the dressing room not long after.

It was such a tit-for-tat contest that Hannant was next to be knocked, after another head clash, this time with his prop opposite James Graham. Pick on someone your own size indeed. The Bulldogs player was able to play on but with a golf ball on his cheek.

The Australians were just a little eager, rushing plays when cool heads were needed.

The coolest of them all on this night was Slater, and his one-two-three sucker punch late in the contest that sealed the game.

AUSTRALIA 46 (B Slater 3 B Morris 2 J Hayne G Inglis C Smith tries J Thurston 7 goals) bt ENGLAND 16 (S Burgess 2 P Fox tries K Sinfield 2 goals) at Elland Road. Referee: Leon Williamson.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Scoreline certainly doesn't flatter England, after the Slater tap back to Smith they pretty much died, and Australia went up a gear. England played very well for 60 minutes, then poor for 20, while Australia finally put it all together. Hayne really stood up, while our front row rotation was poor…again.

 

[Tigerdave]

yeah I don't think the scoreline reflects how close the game was for the better part of it, I think if Burgess had passed the ball in the first half , they may have been up 12 nil, things might have been different. Decent young halves too, as long as they stick with them.

 

[crouching_tiger]

yeah I don't think the scoreline reflects how close the game was for the better part of it, I think if Burgess had passed the ball in the first half , they may have been up 12 nil, things might have been different. Decent young halves too, as long as they stick with them.

You have been brainwashed by the stupid commentators with this 12 - 0 garbage. Morris' first disallowed touchdown was a TRY. There was no separation and was grounded with his forearm/wrist. So yeah…"things might have been different"..

 

[Marshall_magic]

yeah I don't think the scoreline reflects how close the game was for the better part of it, I think if Burgess had passed the ball in the first half , they may have been up 12 nil, things might have been different. Decent young halves too, as long as they stick with them.

You have been brainwashed by the stupid commentators with this 12 - 0 garbage. Morris' first disallowed touchdown was a TRY. There was no separation and was grounded with his forearm/wrist. So yeah…"things might have been different"..

The NRL go away and make their own interpretation of the rules. The 4 nations are not playing with the separation interpretation, instead they are playing with an interpretation that says you must control the ball. Makes a lot more sense

 

[Geo]

:laughing: we smashed the Poms even with the team Sheens selected….....

Thought Luke Lewis was outstanding....... saved our arse in defence on more than one occasion in the first half when if the Poms could have applied scoreboard pressure and things may have been different.

Awe who am I kidding...we smashed them......... :smiley:

Oh and the Pom set up a try that got England back in front with a beautiful play for Burgess..... :master:

 

[alien]

The NRL go away and make their own interpretation of the rules. The 4 nations are not playing with the separation interpretation, instead they are playing with an interpretation that says you must control the ball. Makes a lot more sense

Yeah the rule should be that there should be control. The NRL needs to fix that. No way did Morris have control, he dropped it. Inglis' try from Hayne's kick was 50/50 but I would have given it benefit of the doubt.

 

[crouching_tiger]

yeah I don't think the scoreline reflects how close the game was for the better part of it, I think if Burgess had passed the ball in the first half , they may have been up 12 nil, things might have been different. Decent young halves too, as long as they stick with them.

You have been brainwashed by the stupid commentators with this 12 - 0 garbage. Morris' first disallowed touchdown was a TRY. There was no separation and was grounded with his forearm/wrist. So yeah…"things might have been different"..

The NRL go away and make their own interpretation of the rules. The 4 nations are not playing with the separation interpretation, instead they are playing with an interpretation that says you must control the ball. Makes a lot more sense

So how was the Inglis try any different with control by rolling under his forearm and under his torso?? No need to defend a video referee blunder..

 

[Jazza]

One thing that annoys me sometimes is the biasness of the English commentators.

Whenever we scored a try, they'd barely mention it. Whilst I find it annoying, at the same time I find it funny hearing the disappointment in their voices :laughing:

I also loved at the end when Mike Stephenson said he is getting sick of congratulating the Australians every year and how some of them were trying to be positive about the future and then others were just to disappointed to be optimistic lol.

 

[Tigerdave]

yeah I don't think the scoreline reflects how close the game was for the better part of it, I think if Burgess had passed the ball in the first half , they may have been up 12 nil, things might have been different. Decent young halves too, as long as they stick with them.

You have been brainwashed by the stupid commentators with this 12 - 0 garbage. Morris' first disallowed touchdown was a TRY. There was no separation and was grounded with his forearm/wrist. So yeah…"things might have been different"..

take a chill pill…. I disagree that the Morris 'try' should have been given, so my comment IMO still stands. We more than likely would have still run away with it in the end, but it may have been closer.

 

[Geo]

One thing that annoys me sometimes is the biasness of the English commentators.

Whenever we scored a try, they'd barely mention it. Whilst I find it annoying, at the same time I find it funny hearing the disappointment in their voices :laughing:

I also loved at the end when Mike Stephenson said he is getting sick of congratulating the Australians every year and how some of them were trying to be positive about the future and then others were just to disappointed to be optimistic lol.

:laughing: that was halarious…..Hemmings and Stephenson tried sooooo hard to be commentators....It all went to crap after 5mins or so...

I love the bit when the Poms hit the front again 16 - 14 and Hemmings or Stevo goes..WE have to make sure WE step up a gear cause the AUSTRALIAN'S are sure to come back....the rest they say is history....... :smiley: