SET COMPLETION

Rugby league is a simple game and completing every set of six with as few errors as possible is the basic aim. The less mistakes you make with the ball, the better chance you have of advancing into your opponents’ half and scoring tries at their end of the field. Set completion is an area where England have struggled during this tournament and they have turned the ball over far too cheaply at times. There is simply no room for error against Australia in a World Cup final. Wayne Bennett’s men have to be near perfect if they are to cause an upset and win this match. If you give cheap possession to a team like Australia, eventually they are going to break you.

FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE

Australia have some huge units like David Klemmer but look at England’s forward pack with men such as Sam Burgess, James Graham, Alex Walmsley, Elliott Whitehead and Tom Burgess. That speaks for itself. But England’s contact needs to be better on Saturday than in the opening game against Australia when they lost 18-4 in Melbourne. At times, Australia’s ruck speed saw them march England down the field at ease. Even though we generally defended well and have done throughout the tournament, Australia still made too many easy metres. With Josh Hodgson being out injured, much responsibility will fall on James Roby’s shoulders at hooker. Roby plays 80 minutes all the time for St Helens in Super League and would have been my first-choice hooker anyway. But they could also throw someone like Sean O’Loughlin in there for ten minutes if they need to.

CREATIVITY OF HALF-BACKS

Luke Gale needs to stand up and become a Test player alongside Kevin Brown. We’ve got some terrific players in our backline who can score tries, such as Jermaine McGillvary and Ryan Hall on the wings, and Gareth Widdop at full-back. The personnel is there to come up with a gameplan and to create enough chances to win the game. But we need to not panic, our kicking game needs to improve, and our ruck defence needs to be better. How well you kick the ball is so important in Test match rugby league. Gale is a great club player and has proved this year that at Castleford by winning the Man of Steel award. Now he needs to prove he can do it at the highest level. Brown distributes the ball quickly, which allows Gale to run a bit more. With Widdop supporting the attack from full-back, England can cause Australia problems – but they must stay patient throughout.

WAYNE BENNETT’S INFLUENCE

Eyebrows were raised when the RFL replaced Steve McNamara with Wayne Bennett two years ago. But Bennett does seem to have the magic touch when it comes to big games. Look at his coaching record in the NRL, where he has won a record seven Grand Finals. Incredible. Crucially, during this World Cup, England have got better in every single game. Against Tonga last week, we played for 75 minutes. Now Bennett needs to conjure an full 80-minute performance if England are to prevail. During my career, I played at Wembley five times and lost only once – in the 1995 World Cup final. You don’t get many chances to play in a game this big, especially down under, so I think England will deliver performance-wise. Whether or not that is enough to beat one of the best Australia sides ever remains to be seen because you have to remember that their greatest stars, such as Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith, have played together for many years and know each other inside out.