England play well against the Aussies, look like they are going to beat them, then let them back into the match and eventually succumb to defeat. It is a depressingly familiar tale isn't it?

But it is not all doom and gloom. Oh no. Convincingly beat the Kiwis next Saturday (and judging by England's display today it is not out of the realms of possibility) and they will reach the Four Nations final.

The identity of the two finalists may still be undecided, but one thing is certain - it is going to be another thriller. Set your alarm clocks before you go to bed on Friday because we are up before the birds again. We'll be here from 06:00 GMT. See you then!

Just waking up? Missed all the action? Shame on you. But I've got some good news. You can watch and listen to the whole match again by using the 'Live Coverage' tab on this page. Go on, I dare you...

England coach Steve McNamara: "Ryan Hall definitely touched it, he said he got his finger to it, was not sure whether the ball was on the ground when he touched it, which was why he did not celebrate too much, he knew there was a 20-metre drop out coming and did not want to risk that.

"If you are going to the video ref to query a decision it is because you are not sure so you should let the video referee make the decisions, if they are not sure then they can go back to ref's call, which is I believe is the system you used to have in the NRL.

"We played well, wanted to throw some things at Australia and we did that in the first half. In the second half it felt like we were coming out of our own end for most of it."

There is another scenario where England could beat New Zealand by less than 10 points and then face an agonising wait to see if they are to contest the final. England face the Kiwis on Saturday but may have to wait until the conclusion of Australia v Samoa about 24 hours later to see if they have made it.

Not only do rugby league coaches know their onions about tactics and selection, they also need to have a mathematical brain. England boss Steve McNamara has just had to do his best Carol Vorderman impression when tackled about what his team need to do in their final match against New Zealand.

One Aussie journalist suggested England needed to win by 19 points, but was quickly put right by McNamara. Ten points is the winning margin that England need, as McNamara rightly pointed out. That is because a 10-point victory for England would result in a 20-point swing on the Kiwis and guarantee England a place in the 15 November final.

Craig Johnson:, external Wigan scored a very similar try this season, Matty Bowen had one finger on the ball, try given... #JustSaying

Ben Slater:, external If international rugby league was played over 50 minutes, England would be world beaters. Gutted.

Simon Lie:, external if you slow the disallowed try a bit further back you can say that Greg Inglis had grounded the ball in trying to put it dead #goaustralia

England coach Steve McNamara: "Ryan Hall saves his best performances for Australia. He played excellently and there were a couple of world class performances in my team. Ryan was tremendous in everything he did and was desperately unlucky not to grab that try which would have given us a draw, with a kick to win.

"We are bruised, there is a short turnaround before the next match, and we've got the flight to New Zealand. But I can't envisage any issues at this stage."

England coach Steve McNamara on whether his team changed their philosophy after half-time: "No, we wanted to come out and play in the second half but we got put in tough field positions. There were very few penalties in second half. And for some reason the game was refereed differently from the second half to the first half."

Jon Wilkin
Former England international on BBC Two

"England have to keep playing and support each other against New Zealand next weekend. They will be rueing the inability to close the game out or keep playing to put Australia to the sword."

Australia coach Tim Sheens: "Had it been a try I think Ryan Hall would have been celebrating but he wasn't. They all went back for a line drop-out and were not screaming for a try so I think we got the right decision.

"Ben Hunt was there to play in case Daly Cherry-Evans broke down, but he did a great job, it made us smaller in the middle but it gave the skipper a break and that extended his life out there but it is not something I think would work every week.

"England worked hard to protect their lead, they were strong, very strong in the ruck, so that will be an interesting game between them and New Zealand next week.

"For sure Liam Farrell should be in trouble (for the chicken wing tackle on Greg Inglis that saw him put on report), that is an ugly tackle and Greg Inglis is still not well with it. I was disappointed in the one that saw an English player dive over the top of Greg Bird, who then got put on report."

Australia skipper Cameron Smith: "When England were celebrating they were trying to bluff the referee, all teams do that, but when it goes upstairs to the video referee it goes out of our control.

"We came into this game confident we would play well. I think today we took some big steps to reaching our standards. The young guys did well. Nice to see them stand up in a great game of football, that is what Test football is all about."

Image source, Getty Images

Jon Wilkin: "It was one of the most important moments in England rugby league international history. In the process of trying to force an error, I think this is a try. The referee said the ball was on the upward and that is what has forced the finger up but I disagree with him. At full speed it does not look like a try but when you slow it down it does."

Paul Sculthorpe: "The ball is on the floor, you can see the finger go up - there is pressure on the ball."

Robbie Hunter-Paul: "That is a try. The fact Ryan Hall has reached forward is to try to get a hand on the ball."

England coach Steve McNamara on that potential Ryan Hall 'try': "You never get excited - you never know what is going to happen. I thought it was try. It probably needs a closer look. It looks like Ryan's fingers are on the ball and the ball hit the ground.

On next weekend: "We'll be going hard at New Zealand. We know we need to do that to progress to the next stage. It was a very good performance from us and we knew it would take time from last week into this week. Hopefully we can improve the same again going into next week and get the job done."

England coach Steve McNamara: "It is a tough defeat to take. We threw a lot at Australia, we came to play and said we would do that, and it was agonisingly close at the end. I thought we were better team for large parts and I thought we were in control for a lot of the game. But there was a spell midway through second half where we let Australia get back in to it with a couple of penalties. And a lack of field position in second half cost us."

England captain Sean O'Loughlin: "It was heartbreaking, we thought we had put in a good performance, thought we had scraped it at the end but did not get it. Australia have some real class individuals and we did a good job on them for 90% of the game but they burnt us a couple of times and got over the line.

"We really fancied ourselves today and we were very confident. We know we have another game to put that right."

Gracious stuff from Ryan Hall there. Nobody knows - definitively - whether that was a try of not. We've seen tens of replays and we're still not sure...

England winger Ryan Hall: "I knew I had got something on the ball but I was not sure whether I had grounded it. I did not want to say anything because I wanted us to get the ball back from the restart. After it got referred it was a case of cross your fingers and hope. In Super League that would have not been a try but it is not Super League.

"In the second half we went back into our shell a little bit. I think we had a genuine chance to win that game, we played really well for a new, young side. We worked like we have been together for a few years.

"We owe the Kiwis a bit from last year (when they defeated England in the World Cup semi-final), I don't want to bring it up too much but there is a bit of vengeance there."

Australia skipper Cameron Smith: "It was a huge relief given the pressure on the team and guys involved.

"I thought it was a great Test all round, the English boys were very good and our boys as well. The English team just kept coming and they nearly got us in the end. It is just nice to be in contention for the final.

"I was pretty confident that it would stay as a 'no try' but it was pretty close. I know it was a tough decision to make but I'm glad it went our way.

"It has been a fantastic competition and it will not get any easier against Samoa next week."

Robbie Hunter-Paul
Former New Zealand international on BBC Two

"Australia were celebrating at the final whistle but they are far from the finished article. They are not the Australia we have seen in the recent past. Once the relief of this game goes, they have got a lot of hard work to do ahead of next weekend."

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds Rhinos half-back Rob Burrow:, external You only need a finger on the ball! How is that not a try?

Robbie Hunter-Paul
Former New Zealand international on BBC Two

"Some credit needs to go to the Australians - they started to play like an Australian Test team in the second half - they were finishing their sets and making England come out of their own 22. That draws a lot of energy out of you and we saw that in the middle part of the game.

"We reckon that at half-time Australia coach Tim Sheens said to Greg Inglis that he needs to come into this game, to lead from the front."