Australian Cecchin wins vote to take charge of showdown

Australian Matt Cecchin will be in charge of the Elland Road showdown between England and the Kangaroos after getting the nod ahead of Super League official Phil Bentham and inexperienced New Zealander Henry Perenara.

It means an Australian will referee the final for a second consecutive year despite the presence of the Kangaroos. A year ago, Tony Archer was in charge of the Brisbane final, in which the Kiwis beat Australia 16-12.

New Zealander Perenara effectively ruled himself out of contention with his blunders at Wembley, where he wrongly disallowed an England ‘try’ and failed to show a red card to Australian forward Tony Williams for a high tackle.

Officials agreed a policy in advance of having neutral referees throughout the group stages and picking the best man for the final.

England’s clear preference was for Warrington referee Bentham but he upset Australia coach Tim Sheens during his side’s win over New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament.

Garreth Carvell is facing an anxious wait to discover if he will keep his England spot.

The Warrington front row forward got his first taste of action in Saturday’s 28-6 win over New Zealand after replacing the injured Gareth Ellis.

With Ellis expected to recover from the back injury he picked up in England’s 36-20 defeat by Australia at Wembley, coach Steve McNamara will be tempted to revert to the team that began the tournament for the decider against the Kangaroos at Elland Road.

Thirty-year-old Carvell said: “I’ve been prepared to play every week. It’s a bit difficult to do it but I more or less told myself on the Monday that I’d be playing and put my head on.

“I would have liked a bit more time but to be on the pitch playing is what I wanted. I’ve achieved that and, hopefully, I’ll be in again this week.

“Steve has kept the same 17 so he can get combinations going and I think it’s worked.

“He probably had his doubters but the lads that aren’t in the squad are working so hard as well behind the scenes, doing extra fitness sessions etc, so they are prepared to jump straight in, like me.

“I hadn’t played for six or seven weeks but the training we’ve been doing with the conditioners has been outstanding and everyone is ready to play.”

New Zealand forwards Issac Luke and Jeremy Smith have withdrawn their challenges against suspensions handed down by an international disciplinary panel.