Steelers
19-11-05, 02:07 PM
Australian coach Wayne Bennett is not renowned for gambling but he's taken a huge punt on Penrith duo Craig Gower and Trent Waterhouse coming up trumps in Saturday's defining Tri-Nations rugby league clash with Great Britain.
Great Britain can get a square up for years of suffering at the hands of the world champion Kangaroos by dumping Australia from the final if they muster an eight point victory at Hull KR Stadium.
The battle will be fought deep in England's rugby league heartland and the forecast of freezing temperatures is sure to warm the hearts of English fans who've been waiting 27 years to end Australia's dominance.
Twelve months ago the Lions thought they had Australia's measure.
But skipper Darren Lockyer - ruled out of this series with a broken foot - had other ideas and the Kangaroos ran amok to win the Tri-Nations final 44-4.
There's no way Australia will repeat that scoreline with the Lions showing last weekend against the Kiwis they too can pile on points under pressure.
Bennett obviously likes the idea of the towering, wide-running Waterhouse feeding off Gower, who set him up for two tries in last weekend's 44-12 Test gallop over France in Perpignan.
He had to drop reliable workhorse Steve Price to get Waterhouse onto his bench with Dragons front-rower Jason Ryles winning promotion to the tourists' engine room.
With Trent Barrett overcoming his foot injury to take over at five-eighth, it's likely Scott Prince will be the odd man out with mid-tour replacement Craig Wing securing the utility role on the bench when Bennett settles on his final 17.
Gower is full of confidence and he and Barrett, who is short of a gallop, hold the key to victory if their forwards can gain an edge up front.
Great Britain threw caution to the wind against the Kiwis last weekend because they needed to win by a big margin, and they did.
Against Australia, they only need to win by three points or more to reach the final after being written off as a lost cause a fortnight ago.
If their winning margin is greater than seven, Australia will be bundled out but if they win by less than three, Australia will play New Zealand in the final.
"They'll come at us up the middle of the rucks," warned prop Petero Civoniceva who believes every player in the Lions' pack could play in the NRL.
"They had some success in the first game against us doing that and I don't think anything is going to change there.
"Thankfully our defence in the last game against them was pretty good but at times we leaked a little bit in the middle of the ruck.
"Guys like Keiron Cunningham are so dangerous coming out of dummy half.
Cunningham is a world class act, capable of making something out of nothing.
He threw the cut-out ball Matt Cooper swooped on for an 85 metre try in the Wigan Test but apart from that blemish he was outstanding.
Inspirational vice-captain Brian Carney has given the Lions a lift, beating a hamstring injury.
Richard Horne, who would revel playing in front of his home fans, is tipped to take over injured Paul Deacon's halfback job while Bradford's Leon Pryce could step into fullback Paul Wellen's boots after he was ruled unfit with a knee injury.
The keenest spectators will be New Zealand who for once will be barracking for an Australian win or for Great Britain to win by less than three points.
Source www.nrl.com
Great Britain can get a square up for years of suffering at the hands of the world champion Kangaroos by dumping Australia from the final if they muster an eight point victory at Hull KR Stadium.
The battle will be fought deep in England's rugby league heartland and the forecast of freezing temperatures is sure to warm the hearts of English fans who've been waiting 27 years to end Australia's dominance.
Twelve months ago the Lions thought they had Australia's measure.
But skipper Darren Lockyer - ruled out of this series with a broken foot - had other ideas and the Kangaroos ran amok to win the Tri-Nations final 44-4.
There's no way Australia will repeat that scoreline with the Lions showing last weekend against the Kiwis they too can pile on points under pressure.
Bennett obviously likes the idea of the towering, wide-running Waterhouse feeding off Gower, who set him up for two tries in last weekend's 44-12 Test gallop over France in Perpignan.
He had to drop reliable workhorse Steve Price to get Waterhouse onto his bench with Dragons front-rower Jason Ryles winning promotion to the tourists' engine room.
With Trent Barrett overcoming his foot injury to take over at five-eighth, it's likely Scott Prince will be the odd man out with mid-tour replacement Craig Wing securing the utility role on the bench when Bennett settles on his final 17.
Gower is full of confidence and he and Barrett, who is short of a gallop, hold the key to victory if their forwards can gain an edge up front.
Great Britain threw caution to the wind against the Kiwis last weekend because they needed to win by a big margin, and they did.
Against Australia, they only need to win by three points or more to reach the final after being written off as a lost cause a fortnight ago.
If their winning margin is greater than seven, Australia will be bundled out but if they win by less than three, Australia will play New Zealand in the final.
"They'll come at us up the middle of the rucks," warned prop Petero Civoniceva who believes every player in the Lions' pack could play in the NRL.
"They had some success in the first game against us doing that and I don't think anything is going to change there.
"Thankfully our defence in the last game against them was pretty good but at times we leaked a little bit in the middle of the ruck.
"Guys like Keiron Cunningham are so dangerous coming out of dummy half.
Cunningham is a world class act, capable of making something out of nothing.
He threw the cut-out ball Matt Cooper swooped on for an 85 metre try in the Wigan Test but apart from that blemish he was outstanding.
Inspirational vice-captain Brian Carney has given the Lions a lift, beating a hamstring injury.
Richard Horne, who would revel playing in front of his home fans, is tipped to take over injured Paul Deacon's halfback job while Bradford's Leon Pryce could step into fullback Paul Wellen's boots after he was ruled unfit with a knee injury.
The keenest spectators will be New Zealand who for once will be barracking for an Australian win or for Great Britain to win by less than three points.
Source www.nrl.com