WIGAN - Australia revived their Four Nations hopes with a 26-16 win over England here at the DW Stadium on Saturday in a match where both sides dominated for a half each.
The Kangaroos, badly in need of a win after a 20-20 draw with New Zealand first time out, seemed set to repeat last year's World Cup humbling of England as they raced into a 26-0 half-time lead.
Australia scored five tries, with captain Darren Lockyer, Billy Slater, who touched down twice, Greg Inglis and Brett Morris all crossing England's try-line.
But England hit back in the second-half with tries from Sam Burgess, Gareth Ellis and Lee Smith although the home side were unable to scale the mountain they'd left themselves to climb at the break.
However, a relieved Inglis told the BBC: "They came out in the second-half and played us off the park, luckily we scored enough points in the first half.
"I don't think we took our foot off the gas, we just didn't complete our sets and do what we spoke about at half-time."
England's Australia-born coach Tony Smith added: "They got off to a flyer and took advantage of a few of our mistakes. They have some exceptional people who can do that to you.
"We grafted in the second half and showed what we are about, played a bit more how we like to play and were a lot better defensively.
"We showed the character we've got. We are disappointed, we wanted to do better but I'm proud of how the players went about it in the second-half."