Watmough is hoping to close his season where it began, when the Kangaroos face England in Saturday's Gillette Four Nations final in Leeds.

The all-action second-row was man of the match for Manly Sea Eagles in their 28-20 Carnegie World Club Challenge win over Leeds Rhinos at Elland Road back in March.

That gave him a taste for playing in front of English crowds – and he reckons the home supporters will go away disappointed again this weekend.

"I loved the atmosphere at Elland Road," said Watmough, who is vying for a place on the Aussie bench. "You can pretty much feel the fans breathing on you, which is a good thing.

"If we can come out and do what we did that night, it'll be a pleasure to play in. Crowds bring out the best in teams and it definitely worked for us that night.

"They were really giving it to us, but it worked in a negative way for them. You've got to try and ride it out and weather the storm. If we can get on top of the English, we can take the crowd out of the game."

Watmough – who angered Rhinos fans by laying out scrum-half Rob Burrow during the World Club game – added: "It's good playing in front of English fans, I like the vocal-ness of it.

"They show that they love their sport. That's why we all play the game.
"They have probably got the best fans in the world for getting behind their team and revving them up."

Aussie coach Tim Sheens revealed this week that many in the Kangaroos camp had expected to be playing New Zealand in the final.

But Watmough insisted: "I'm not surprised England are there.

"If you look at the youth they've got in the side, they ooze confidence and when you've got a team with a bit of confidence, they can do anything.

"That's England at the moment.

"In the second half against France they showed what they can do and it was the same in the second half against us.

"If we don't stick to our guns for 80 minutes, they're going to spank us. We have got to really stand up this time.

"We've shown we can match it with anyone for the first half and we can play better than anyone.

"But when we are in front we've got to be relentless and ruthless and carry on with the game."

Watmough is a surprise omission from Australia's starting 13.

Penrith Panthers second-rower Luke Lewis takes over in the only change to the team which started against England two weeks ago.

Watmough is hoping to be among the substitutes and he's keen for a rematch with Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield, who was this week hailed as the world's best loose-forward and who has been England's outstanding player so far.

"He is a talent," said Watmough. "He has shown he can handle it and he has been one of the form players of the tournament.

"We've got to shut down their forwards and if we do that, we know we'll go a long way to shutting down the backs.

"They have got a good pack and Gareth Ellis brings a bit of the NRL back to the English side.

"It's one of those games that's going to be a battle up front. Whoever gets the better of that is going to win the game."

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THE row over the referee for Saturday's game has been settled with the appointment of New Zealander Leon Williamson.

The selection of the 40-year-old is effectively a compromise after the finalists failed to secure their first-choice officials.
England wanted St Helens referee Steve Ganson while the Kangaroos pressed for Australian Shayne Hayne.