Exclusive: We've got a shot at winning, says Burgess

The former Bradford Bulls forward is only 21 but such is his growing presence he accepts great responsibility will rest on his shoulders against Australia tomorrow as the under-fire tourists attempt to avoid a Four Nations calamity.

Burgess has been a revelation since his 200,000 switch to South Sydney 12 months ago but an insipid opening performance in New Zealand last week means his England colleagues must now win at Melbourne to retain any hope of reaching the tournament's final.

Otherwise, their competition could be rated as much of a turkey as the shambolic World Cup Down Under two years ago, something the irritated Yorkshireman is desperate to avoid.

"It's about time we got a performance," Burgess told the Yorkshire Post.

"I was disappointed with my own display against the Kiwis. I didn't lead with my actions or do much with the ball.

"I'll be out to make amends tomorrow as we all will as we know we didn't deliver.

"We have an opportunity here to sort it out, stand up and be considered as a serious nation in rugby league.

"I really believe we've got a shot at this."

The robust Burgess has been shifted from second-row to prop to be closer to the action and create more of a shuddering impact, England struggling to inflict any dominance on the New Zealand pack last week.

Ruthless coach Steve McNamara has made a raft of bold changes, the idea clearly being to use brute force against the champions, who were admittedly caught by surprise when a similar tactic was adopted here last year.

He has filled his squad with size and power, even adding extra physical strength at stand-off where Huddersfield's Kevin Brown is dropped to allow Wigan loose forward Sean O'Loughlin to switch.

That has freed up the usually elusive Sam Tomkins – so well-contained by the Kiwis when at six – to make his raids further out from full-back while McNamara has gone for a mongrel element in his pack with both Ben Westwood and Joel Tomkins starting.

It may not be subtle but there is a clear sense England will not miss out this time due to any lack of vigour.

"It's an exciting line-up," admitted Burgess, with a recall for dynamic Huddersfield prop Eorl Crabtree and fellow Giants Leroy Cudjoe and Shaun Lunt making their debuts alongside the rugged Ben Harrison.

"It shows Steve's ambition to do anything to win and now we'll see how it goes.

"The feeling around the camp is of excitement and we're looking forward to the challenge.

"It's massive for me. I live over here, play over here and enjoying it all but I have never beaten Australia. I'm around them all the time so they keep reminding me of that. We need to put a stop to it."

Lacklustre England were 18-0 down against the Kiwis and Burgess refused to take positives from their brief second-half comeback.

"I was really frustrated both before and during that game," he explained. "It felt empty. We didn't have the actual feel of a Test match and you can't play in one without it.

"We were not really in it. Tomorrow we need to start well and stand up from the off."

When they met last year, Burgess came off the bench to score a try in their first encounter and was similarly productive when starting in the final at Elland Road.

After grabbing a coruscating effort to put England 6-0 up, he broke again straight after and, in identical circumstances, tried dummying full-back Billy Slater instead of feeding Sam Tomkins.

It did not pay off and instead of building a potentially decisive 12-0 advantage, their rivals escaped and sped downfield to level, ultimately racing out 46-16 victors.

Burgess conceded he has thought hard about that wasted chance to maybe end England's 37-year wait for a tournament success over their fierce rivals.

"A few of the lads have told me about that again this week but that play didn't cost us the game," he said.

"What happened in the last 20 minutes did. I thought I'd made the right decision by not passing – I felt an Australian player to my left – but it didn't come off.

"It cost us six points but looking back on the video maybe I should have given it.

"If I was there again, I'd pass it. I would do tomorrow too."

England: S Tomkins; D Goulding, L Cudjoe, R Atkins, T Briscoe; S O'Loughlin, L Robinson; J Graham (capt), J Roby, S Burgess, G Ellis, J Tomkins, B Westwood. Substitutes: S Lunt, S Fielden, E Crabtree, B Harrison.

Australia: B Slater; B Morris, B Tate, W Tonga, L Tuqiri; D Lockyer (capt), C Cronk; N Myles, C Smith, P Civoniceva, L Lewis, S Thaiday, P Gallen. Substitutes: D Shillington, T Learoyd-Lars, A Watmough, K Gidley.

Referee: T Archer (Australia).