Bulls coach Mick Potter reckons the forward battle will decide tonight’s Gillette Four Nations final and admitted: “I wouldn’t like to be in the thick of it.”

Australia enter the lion’s den of a sold-out Elland Road bidding to extend almost four decades of dominance over England and Great Britain in finals and series deciders.

Potter acknowledged Tim Sheens’ men will take some stopping should they hit top gear but he has been highly impressed by England’s march to the final.

And having watched Wales give Australia a fright last weekend at the Racecourse Ground, where Bradford duo Craig Kopczak and Elliot Kear again excelled, Potter said the Kangaroos were far from invincible.

Pinpointing the confrontation between the respective packs as a major factor in deciding the outcome, the former Canterbury and St George full back said: “The match will be decided by the forwards and I wouldn’t like to be out there in the middle when they clash.

“There will be some heavy impact and that collision is where the game will be won and lost.

“England are confident, whereas Australia wouldn’t have been happy with how they played in the first half of the Wales game last week. Certainly they will be looking to improve on that – and they need to.”

England have made undeniable progress under former Bulls coach Steve McNamara and will command respect from the Kangaroos, for whom skipper Darren Lockyer is making his final career appearance.

Potter said: “James Graham and James Roby are top players and Ben Westwood is going well too, plus Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock have been outstanding for many years now.

“Gareth Ellis and Chris Heighington are also very solid, so England have real strength in depth up front.

“With the likes of Jack Reed, Tom Briscoe, Kirk Yeaman and Ryan Hall in the backs, they are a formidable side.

“They have some flamboyance too with Sam Tomkins at full back, while Rangi Chase is a jack-in-the-box that you just can’t get hold of.

“Kevin Sinfield pulls the strings, so overall they’ve got a good, balanced squad.

“If the Aussies get out of the blocks quickly and are nice and solid, then I think they will be hard to beat, but the conditions may play a part.

“If they are a bit slippery then the English guys could be very hard to beat.

“The Aussies aren’t used to that and certainly having a massive crowd behind them, and the feelgood factor surrounding them right now, England could make things very tough.”

The Bulls boss will not be at Elland Road tonight as he is due to attend the wedding reception of Kyle Briggs, who tied the knot today.

“I would have liked to have gone but I can’t be in two places at once,” said Potter.

“I’m going to record it but if there is a television at Kyle’s reception then we might all be congregated around it.”

Potter’s squad, meanwhile, returned from their two-day training camp at RAF Linton-on-Ouse yesterday.

Adrian Purtell is scheduled to land in the UK tomorrow and join his new team-mates for pre-season training on Monday.