Australia kept their Four Nations hopes alive with a hard-fought 16-12 victory over England in Melbourne, although the story could have been very different had the Australian video referee given a late try for the visitors.
The Kangaroos took the lead in the 16th minute after Greg Bird released Michael Jennings, who touched down rather clumsily.
However, England levelled after some quick play in midfield saw Sam Tomkins offload to Kallum Watkins, who broke through a tackle and crossed the line. Gareth Widdop's giant conversion then put the visitors ahead for the first time in the game.
A few minutes before half time, England extended their lead when Ryan Hall crossed the line unchallenged after a period of significant pressure and Widdop kicked the extras to earn his side a 12-4 advantage at the break.
However, in the 57th minute Australia took advantage of a penalty to reduce the deficit through Ben Hunt's try and the home side regained the lead with 15 minutes remaining when Greg Inglis crossed the line under the posts, giving Cameron Smith the simple task of kicking the extras from just infront of the posts.
With 40 seconds remaining, England thought that they had got themselves back on level terms when Hall got the faintest of touches on the ball, but the video referee adjudged that he hadn't applied enough downward pressure as the hosts breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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