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[VIDEO] Australia vs England highlights: 2014 Four Nations scores, blog

2nd November, 2014
Kick Off: 4pm (AEDT)
Venue: AAMI Park
Head-to-head: Played: 12; Australia 9, England 2
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Betting: Australia 1.33 England 3.30
Greg Inglis, one of the modern greats, would not have been playing league if it wasn't for Dally Messenger. (Photo: NRL)
Roar Guru
2nd November, 2014
197
6607 Reads

MATCH RESULT:

Australia have recorded their first win of the 2014 Four Nations, getting home against England by four points on Sunday afternoon at AAMI Park.

FINAL SCORE:
Australia 16
England 12

MATCH PREVIEW:

A struggling Australia will be looking to save their Four Nations campaign as they take on a strong England outfit at AAMI Park. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:00pm (AEDT).

The Four Nations tournament is truly alive and thriving. After a highly entertaining and competitive first round of matches we now have a situation as rare as Phil Gould making a sensible comment – Australia are outsiders.

Though they will start the game on Sunday as considerable favourites, New Zealand are now leading the market to take out the trophy.

New Zealand demoralised and dominated the Australians en route to an impressive win with significant ease.

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Australia’s most glaring weakness, one many fans and analysts alike foretold, was in their forward pack.

New Zealand was able to dominate with size, speed, footwork and ball skills – descriptions usually reserved for backs.

New Zealand (1528) ran for a significant 382 metres more than the Australians (1146). It will be interesting to see how Australian coach Tim Sheens responds to the issue, and whether or not it is currently fixable.

England will be coming into this game happy to have a win under their belt. Last week they were not so surprisingly dragged into an uncompromising battle with Samoa, one they were lucky to win.

They struggled to find rhythm and play consistent football due largely to their awful ball control – making 11 errors. Their efforts could be described as no greater than ‘good enough’. Good enough against Samoa will not cut it against an Australian team regardless of injuries.

Sione Matu’utia will make his debut, becoming the youngest Kangaroo to ever do so, replacing Daniel Tupou on the wing. Corey Parker comes into the starting side at lock, with Hoffman moving to the bench to make way for Bird at second row.

Tim Sheens has again named an extended bench consisting of Ryan Hoffman, Boyd Cordner, Robbie Farah, Aidan Guerra, Ryan Hoffman, Ben Hunt, David Klemmer, and Josh Papalii. Tim Sheens looks to be sticking with a side that prioritizes mobility over size – will England be able to thwart this strategy as effectively as New Zealand?

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England have named an unchanged side from last weeks clash, though captain Sean O’Loughlin is still a possibility if he is able to overcome a quad injury.

England have an impressive forward pack headlined by the best prop pairing going around, George Burgess and James Graham, and certainly have the ability to cause prolonged concern and pressure on the smaller Australian men.

In saying that, Australia as a whole are still a class above the English. If the men in the green and gold (or blue and maroon) are able to hold the ball, play with intensity and win the battle through the middle they should be able to pull out the win.

Australia by 10 points.

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