A shock 18-all draw between Scotland and New Zealand has breathed new life into England's hopes of making the Four Nations final, and Australia believe it will only make them more motivated for their meeting on Monday morning (AEDT).
The result in Workington, which saw Scotland become the first second-tier nation to gain a point at a Four Nations tournament, means a draw or win against Australia will now guarantee England of a spot in the November 20 final at Anfield, Liverpool.
According to Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith it will make England an even more dangerous prospect when they meet at the Olympic Stadium in London.
"It has given them (England) a bit more of a sniff, hasn't it?" Smith said of the Scotland result.
"The talk throughout the week was that England need to win, but by how much, but now they just need to win [or draw] to be in the final.
"It is probably a little bit of extra motivation for their side, but taking the result away from what happened last night I think Wayne (England coach Wayne Bennett) would have had these guys geared up to play a pretty solid game tomorrow.
"I am tipping these guys are going to come with plenty of energy tomorrow… so I am expecting a pretty intense game."
The draw between the Bravehearts and Kiwis also assured Australia of their spot in the final, but coach Mal Meninga said his side's goals remained the same.
"We are safe of course after what happened last night, but we still want to put in a good performance going into the final as well," Meninga said.
"Upping the ante a little bit and making sure we execute a lot better than we have through the series.
"I think [England] will be even more desperate to put on a really good showing, which they are capable of doing, there is no doubt about that.
"They have got a terrific forward pack, the Burgess boys, James Graham, [Elliott] Whitehead, Josh Hodgson, all terrific players and if they play to their potential they will be hard to beat.
This article first appeared on NRL.com
