Jermaine McGillvary believes facing the Australians will bring the very best out of England.
The Giants winger will line-up against the Kangaroos for the first time in Sunday’s Four Nations must-win clash at the Olympic Stadium in London.
England need to win to keep alive their hopes of reaching the tournament final at Anfield the following weekend.
The fact the host nation were far from impressive in stuttering to a 38-12 triumph over Danny Brough’s Scotland at Coventry last Saturday has made the Australians clear favourites to take the honours in the capital.
And McGillvary is more than happy England will go into the game as underdogs.
“It was obvious with the way we played against Scotland that there was a lot of complacency from us,” said McGillvary, who scored against the Scots after crossing for England in their heart-breaking 17-16 opening Four Nations defeat to New Zealand at Huddersfield the week before.
“We were expected to win, and we just couldn’t seem to get going.
“But it goes without saying it’s completely different this week. We’re up against the Australians, and they’re the ones expected to win, which suits us fine.
“I found the pressure of being such overwhelming favourites against Scotland pretty tough.
“It meant I was a lot more nervous than usual leading into the game, and I think that was the case with some of the other boys, too. As a result, our performance suffered.
“But this time, we can just go out there and enjoy it and leave Australia to worry about all the expectation and pressure.
“That’s meant I’ve not felt as nervous this week. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and testing myself against arguably the best side out there.
“The main emotion I’m feeling right now is one of excitement. It doesn’t get much better for a rugby league player than having the chance to play against the Australians, and I can’t wait to face them for the first time.
“And I also know we’re good enough to beat them.
“The build-up to this game feels like it did to the build-up to the New Zealand game, when we know how close we were to winning that game.
“If we take the same approach to this game and learn the lessons of what went wrong that day, then we know we can do it.”
McGillvary will also be playing at the Olympic Stadium for the first time, and admits that’s another reason why he’s feeling in such upbeat mood.
“I was really gutted that I missed out on playing there against New Zealand last season,” added McGillvary.
“It’s a fantastic stadium, and to play at a venue like that makes it a special occasion in itself.
“We’re all looking forward to what could prove a very memorable match.”
