GIANTS coach Nathan Brown believes England can beat Australia in tonight’s Four Nations final – as long as the conditions are right.

The mighty Kangaroos are red-hot favourites to beat the hosts at Leeds’ Elland Road stadium (7.30), with William Hill quoting odds of 1-6 for a victory for the famous green and golds.

That’s largely based on the fact Australia won 26-16 at Wigan when the two teams met earlier in the competition.

England bounced back from that defeat to beat New Zealand 20-12 at the Galpharm seven days ago to book a place in the final, when the wet weather made it a forward battle, which worked to coach Tony Smith’s side’s advantage.

And Australian Brown believes similar conditions could be England’s trump card.

“I don’t think England will win on a dry track,” said Brown.

“Australia’s outside backs are bigger and more athletic than the English and have the real class and talent, but if it’s wet which will take the likes of Inglis out of the game then it could be interesting.

“The forwards are pretty much on a par, while by all accounts the England bench is a bit better.

“So there’s no doubt that if the conditions suit and they have a bit of luck England could do well.”

Brown will obviously be taking particular interest in the performance of Giants prop Eorl Crabtree, who has already enhanced his reputation with one big game against the Australians this series.

And the Galpharm chief hopes he does well again – even if it means it helps England beat his fellow countrymen.

“I’m really looking forward to tonight’s game, and I’d love to see Eorl play well,” he added.

“I know this may sound a little bit unpatriotic as an Australian, but as long as Eorl has a good game I’ll be happy, even if his performance means England win.

“Eorl is my closest affiliation in this game, so he’s obviously my top priority. If he plays well I know how much confidence he’ll bring back with him to the Giants.

“And, to be honest, I also know if England win it will be great for the game over here. That’s something else that’s important.”

But Australia coach Tim Sheens is confident his players’ State of Origin experience will swing the final his side’s way.

Sheens is anticipating a close-fought final and is confident his side can last the pace better than their Super League opponents.

“Most of my players have played State of Origin,” he said.

“They know what it’s like in a very tough series to keep playing for 80 minutes.

“Queensland and New South Wales have both won and lost games in the last five minutes. It will be an 80-minute effort from both sides, there’s no doubt about that.

“It doesn’t matter whether there’s two points or 20 in it, no one is going to stop playing, there’s too much pride in both groups for that.

“So it will be a very intense game and, if there is a need to draw on any experience, our guys can play at that level and they will need to in order to beat a much-improved England side.”

Sheens, who has spoken in glowing terms about England’s performance against New Zealand, is planning to increase his team’s potency by bringing international player of the year Jarryd Hayne more into the game.

The Parramatta full-back has been largely anonymous on the right wing in Australia’s three group matches, with left winger Brett Morris capitalising on the flow of possession to score four tries so far.

Of the 16 tries Australia have scored in the tournament, 12 have come down the left and Hayne, who has yet to open his account, is set to get in on the act by switching flanks and lining up alongside the equally dangerous Greg Inglis.

“We’ve looked at both options and I’ll make a decision after training,” said Sheens.