England's initial ferocity left Australia's Cooper Cronk impressed

Of course, there are some here who will feel that is extremely hard to comprehend after their latest Four Nations elimination at the hands of the Kangaroos.

But Cronk – whose side face New Zealand in the final of a major tournament for the third successive time on Sunday – believes there is no need for another period of painful self-analysis.

The Melbourne Storm scrum-half was instrumental in the 36-18 win over England during Sunday’s contest at London Stadium, bringing the sort of control and incisive action that the error-strewn holders so badly lacked.

But he told The Yorkshire Post: “I don’t think they’re far off at all.

“If you go back and have a look at the first half in particular (England trailed 10-6) it was top-notch international rugby league.

“It had intensity, passion, aggression, some skill-sets on show and I thought we did well to resist their ferocious start.

“We managed to score a try just before half-time and then obviously we went on with the game second half.

“But from that performance I’d say England aren’t far off. They’ve been like that for some time.

“I look forward to hopefully playing them in the World Cup next year – hopefully off a trophy win here.”

Furthermore, Cronk, the Queensland State of Origin star who won the 2011 Four Nations and World Cup two years later with Australia in England, believes they can step up to the next level with or without his fellow countryman Wayne Bennett.

The ‘master coach’ has taken over England this year and come under criticism for not bringing immediate success or, more pertinently, not even reaching the final as they did in 2011 and 2009.

He is, of course, contracted to the 2017 World Cup and has said working towards that event next year is his main goal.

But Cronk, 32, insisted: “Whether Wayne Bennett’s the coach or any other person in the England set-up, that team has the ability to be a very good, competitive football team.

“I know we did our homework on them as a unit and as individuals and it took a lot of effort from us to get on top of them.

“Whether Wayne’s the coach or anyone else, the English rugby league team is a formidable opposition.”

They could well be formidable once they settle on a half-back pairing, Bennett having tried three different combinations in their three Four Nations encounters.

As Cronk attests, finding a regular creative partner is invaluable; he has been paired with Johnathan Thurston at State of Origin and Test level for the last five years.

His midfield link with hooker Cameron Smith is even stronger given they have been united regularly at representative level since 2010, and at club level, too, throughout his career.

“There’s no doubt that is an asset,” said Cronk, who revealed he was “in awe” stepping out on Liverpool FC’s famous pitch at yesterday’s press conference.

“It helps us, but the thing is for combinations to stay and grow and connect with one another; you need to play well individually, too.

“The England team and New Zealand team, they are the best players in the country.

“Fortunately enough for us we can probably afford to chop and change a little bit in that we have a few key players that play a lot of football together. That helps us.

“And I thought our combinations against England on Sunday were where they need to be. Hopefully we can do that this Sunday, too.”

New Zealand remain the 
No 1 ranked side in the world, but they have lost all three matches with Australia this year and it is no surprise the Kangaroos are favourites, the Kiwis being 7-2 outsiders.

This said, they have been burned before in these lofty occasions, infamously losing the 2008 World Cup final to New Zealand and the Four Nations two years ago.

Cronk conceded: “There’s a reason why the two best teams in the world are playing off for a trophy at Anfield.

“It’s because there’s elite players all across the pitch on Sunday and no matter what the form lines are – no matter what’s transpired before – it’s going to be an occasion where we will need to play our best football to hopefully be successful.”