Rugby league: Fittler's army set to tackle old England again

Rugby league's marketing people are using the old "Dads Army" theme song to promote the upcoming test series between the Kangaroos and Great Britain.

The tune goes, "who do you think you are kidding, Freddie Fittler (for 'Mr Hitler'), if you think old England's done?"

That may be the home side and their fans' attitude, but it'll still be a major surprise if tonight's first match - and in fact the whole series - goes any way other than an Australian victory.

Brad "Freddie" Fittler's Australian side has a fine record against their opponents - they have not lost a Test series on English soil since 1959.

However, some factors may prove to level things out in this series.

This British team has more insight into the Australians than in previous years, with an Australian, David Waite, coaching the side. His inside knowledge, particularly in devising a strategy to counteract the skills and ploys of Aussie halfback and play-by-play mastermind Andrew Johns, will be invaluable to the Great Britain cause.

In addition, the Kangaroos aren't at full strength for tonight's encounter.

They're without several key players from last year's World Cup champion team. Gorden Tallis, Bryan Fletcher, Craig Gower, Ryan Girdler and Nathan Hindmarsh are injured, while wingers Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers have defected to rugby union.

The Australians trained at the match venue, McAlpine Stadium, yesterday, and expressed some concern at the small in-goal areas. Set at a modest six metres deep (ie, the distance from tryline to dead-ball line), they were smaller than the tourists had been led to expect.

The standard depth of the in-goal areas in NRL matches is eight metres. The difference is significant, since kicks into the in-goal area are a key stratagem in rugby league matches. A shorter area than expected would lead to the Australians' kicks going dead more often than they'd expect.

Kangaroos coach Chris Anderson was cynical about the decision to reduce the size of the in-goal area, saying it was a ploy to gain an advantage, but his English counterpart just shrugged.

British coach Waite said: "All I asked is that the in-goals be the same depth at all three Tests - I think that is fair."

Both teams are prepared for traffic chaos in Huddersfield; a cinema complex adjoining the stadium is previewing the Harry Potter movie 24 times during the day and 6,000 tickets have already been sold.

The Test itself is likely to be a 27,000-sellout.

The British Isles may indeed have successfully repelled the advances of 'Mr Hitler' all those years ago, thanks to their 'Dad's Army' sense of bulldog pride and determination - but whether this English XIII will be equally successful in overcoming Fittler's platoon in this series is a different matter altogether.