Kangaroos march on to Anfield

v BYE

Australia has defeated England 36-18 to go through to the Four Nations final undefeated, where they will face New Zealand in the Final at historic Anfield next Sunday.

Two tries in three minutes after the break to Australian prop Matt Scott and then for Josh Dugan put the result to bed, when Scott powered over off the back of a strong run from Greg Inglis, who was a constant threat for England. Following Scott's try, Cooper Cronk then sliced through sending Dugan on a clear run to the tryline.

The match was somewhat overshadowed by Sam Burgess who threw a vicious right hook at Kangaroos enforcer David Klemmer after Matt Gillett scored in the 71^st minute. The punch would have certainly seen Burgess sent from the field in the NRL, however International rules saw Klemmer cautioned for instigating the ruckus.

England took an early lead in the test match, as Aaron Woods giving a gift to points in front of the posts early attempting to slow down the play the ball. Australia evened things up through Jonathan Thurston when England centre Kallum Watkins was penalised for attacking the legs of Cooper Cronk after kicking on the last.

England's quick play the balls saw Australia give away back to back penalties. The English backed themselves taking the tap and the pressure applied by the home side paid off when winger Jermaine McGilvary scored in the corner after a terrific ball from fullback Jonny Lomax for England to strike first.

Australia fought back however, when Josh Hodgson gave away a penalty which saw the Australian backline click into gear, when Darius Boyd threw a sublime pass to Blake Ferguson, with the Roosters flyer touching down in the corner. Jonathan Thurston converted from the sideline and Australia took the lead.

A penalty against Sam Burgess for an innocuous shoulder charge on Boyd Cordner as the siren sounded gave Jonathan Thurston a chance to extend the lead and he made no mistake with Australia going to the sheds with a 10-6 lead.

England almost got off to the perfect start when Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson dummied close to the line and managed to get a difficult pass away to skipper Sam Burgess who spilt the ball over the line. Replays suggested that the pass was forward but unfortunately the difficult chance went begging for Wayne Bennett's men.

Australia again managed to apply some more pressure on the home side, when Thurston chipped for a looming Greg Inglis, forcing Kallum Watkins to make a play when he knocked on close to the line. Off the scrum, skipper Cameron Smith switched to the blind side to get Inglis one on one with Watkins, where Inglis powered over to score. Thurston made it 4 from 4 with another sensational conversion from the sideline and it was Australia ahead by 16-6 half an hour to play.

The Kangaroos then clicked into gear with two tries in succession to Scott and then Dugan which put the visitors in a commanding position.  England halfback Gareth Widdop lead a short revival when he powered over close to the line with 12 minutes remaining, however Matt Gillet's try iced the game and booked Australia's place at Anfield next week.

English winger Ryan Hall continued his incredible try scoring rate at Test match level to get a try back for the home side, however Australia finished on a high note when exciting winger Valentine Holmes scored a sensational try, after a brilliant offload from Tyson Frizell found Matt Gillett who managed to get the ball away in traffic, which saw the Sharks winger leap in the air for a spectacular put down to seal at brilliant 36-18 win.

The Kangaroos now head to Anfield for next week's final, where they will look to reclaim the number one ranking in the world back from the Kiwi's.