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Billy Slater’s broken right collarbone took a lot of the gloss off the Kangaroo’s 36-20 world championship win over England at Wembley overnight.
Attempting to shoulder charge England’s flying winger Ryan Hall in the corner went horribly wrong. Ryan scored, and Slater left the field after 11 minutes.
That created a backline reshuffle, with Darius Boyd moving to full-back and second-rower Luke Lewis onto the wing.
Both played brilliantly, and both scored top tries in the six the Kangaroos posted, all converted by Johnathan Thurston from all over the park.
But it was the emergence of Cooper Cronk and Tony Williams off the bench later that set the backline alight.
The Storm half-back Cronk was given a roving commission that he relished. He popped up at dummy-half, first receiver, and among the forwards in a classical display.
Williams was all power – straight and hard. He bowled over the far smaller lock Chris Heighington with contempt on the way to a bustling try, and he always made ground.
But even without the International-Player-of-the-Year Slater, the Kangaroos were a cut above England in every department.
That’s be expected with the likes of skipper Darren Lockyer, vice-captain Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis, and the energetic Thurston, calling the shots – four of the best players on the planet.
The win cements a final berth for the Kangaroos in a fortnight, with next weekend’s England-New Zealand clash to decide the opponent.
Last night, in the earlier game, New Zealand thumped Wales 36-nil with Benji Marshall at his mercurial best. He looms as the difference against England next week.
But England showed plenty of ticker last night, they kept coming back for more, there was no white flag. They copped a couple of dubious decisions from referee Henry Perenara, but that didn’t dictate the result.
Come next week, England must play to their strengths.
Hall must find more work on the wing. His two tries were a combination of sheer pace and strength. And fullback Sam Tomkins must become more involved. He has talent to burn, but all too often the play moved away from him.
Up front, skipper Jamie Peacock, and Gareth Ellis, with veteran Adrian Morley off the bench, need to be more constructive, they’ve all been around for a long time.
More importantly, they must keep Benji Marshall quiet. Or pay the penalty.