Tim Sheens lauds Australia's performance through out Four Nations' campaign
While talking to reporters in a post-match press conference after bagging a 30-8 win in the Gillette Four Nations final at Elland Roads, Leeds, Australian coach, Tim Sheens, praised his side for their commendable performance throughout the campaign.
Expressing his thoughts about Roos title-decider victory, their coach said, "It was a determined effort from the group. We have been a really tight group and worked hard from the start. There has been a lot of talk about England and how well they were prepared
but I can tell you we worked very hard. They showed up for each other tonight and I was real happy with the way they defended. It was a great game of footy. The crowd got their money's worth and rugby league in this country will take some credit from that.”
The coach further went on and said that this was England’s second successive final on their home ground but the English side fought back well, which made it difficult for Australian side to score.
The first-half of the game was a tight tussle, despite Australia’s early lead with Sam Thaiday’s try. However, the English side did not let go of their opponents easily, as Ryan Hall ran in a try towards the end of the first-half with the score break up
of 6-8.
The second-half of the game was all Australia despite an early level up of 8-8 at the 55th minute of the game. From that point onwards, the English side offered no resistance to the opposition until the end of the clash.
Meanwhile, Australians were on a scoring spree during the latter half of the game as Jharal Yow Yeh, Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston ran in tries to further widen the gap.
This was not all from Thurston’s quarters because he also added five goals. His efforts were well–received as he walked away with the Man-of-the -Match title
The best part of the game featured Roos’ departing skipper, Darren Lockyer, scoring the final try during concluding minutes of the game. This was a dream come true for Lockyer, who finished his stellar rugby league career at such a high note.
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