England

Image source, SWpix

England head coach Shaun Wane, speaking to BBC One: "The lads have been great this week. Disappointing last week. Against an unbelievable team like Australia, you need to concentrate for 80 minutes, and we didn't do that last week.

"They're a good team. They took their chances in the first Test at Wembley.

"We could have scored last week, but their skillset has been superior in the first two games. We need to have a bit of luck and things go our way and then things can change.

"This is the start of the World Cup for next year. People need to put their best foot forward."

Now for a minute's silence, which is impeccably observed at Headingley Stadium.

Time for the national anthems.

Image source, SWPix

Image source, SWPix

Here come the teams. Both captains are carrying wreaths as part of the Remembrance commemorations. A performance of The Last Post is about to get under way.

Image source, SWpix

Emma Smith
BBC Sport at Headingley

We've already had one major surprise today - it isn't absolutely freezing at Headingley, for perhaps the first time ever.

Could England cause another on the pitch?

Australia

Australia head coach Kevin Walters, speaking to BBC One:"I felt that with all those guys that played in the first two Tests, we haven't played our best football, so give them an opportunity to finish the series off in a way we feel we can play.

"Our defence has got to be good again today. This England team have some great attacking players. We want our attack to be better, our patience wasn't great with the ball last week. A strong mindset getting through our sets and kicking to the corners."

On the series:"I would like to do this every year if we could. The rivalry is there. All the nonsense of the England side, our boys have been sore after the game. Good old-fashioned Test match games. I like to think we will continue this on the world stage.

"Very impressed with them [England]. A lot of unfair criticism around the team. Our guys have defended well our attack has been stuffed out by the good English defence.

"I have played and coached over here and you guys are a tough footy nation."

Jon Wilkin
Former England international on BBC Radio 5 Live

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There's been a lot of talk about the gap between England and Australia.

I find it such a strange discussion because there is obviously a gulf between the two sides.

The NRL is commercially successful. Rugby League in Australia is the equivalent to our Premier League.

They should be beating us. It is commendable the second Test with how England took the fight to them.

We get caught up in the media spin that the series could be a whitewash. It is sensible to be this way - England being as close as they have might be a result itself.

As things stand England are not sure whether they will play another fixture between Saturday’s final Ashes Test and next year’s World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

With Super League expanding to a 14-team competition next term, the chances of a mid-season Test fixture, which was removed in 2025, appears unlikely.

And when head coach Shaun Wane was asked directly about it this week, he said he had "heard nothing".

"I'd love to get all the players together for more than an off-feet session. I didn't even have that [this season],” said Wane.

Guess it poses the question, of just how England can bridge the gap to Australia before travelling to Oceania in 2026?

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England coach Shaun Wane on recalling Joe Burgess for his first international appearance since 2015: "It's a credit to him, he has a new lease of life at Hull KR. I am so happy to be able to give him a start, that means something to me."

On whether the gap between England and Australia is growing: "When you play 10 Test matches and the State of Origin series like they do, that is a massive advantage. If we want to nail our international calendar, we need to play teams like Australia more on a level playing field."

England's Joe Burgess on whether he thought he would play for his country again after 10 years without a call-up: "Yeah, if I knuckled down - I did it once, could do it again. Once you get to 31, you wonder if it is too late. But I knew I had potential to play again, always been the end goal.

"It is the best year of my life, my first time winning the Challenge Cup and the Super League. To get a recall back to England squad, it is an unbelievable year I still have not fully processed."

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Mikey Lewis was given the last 11 minutes of the second Test and was deployed at hooker, when he did come on in place of club teammate Jez Litten.

It's fair to say that Shaun Wane's decision to give the Hull KR man so little time to impact proceedings did not go down well with some of the English media.

However, in Wane's defence Lewis did not (like many others) have a great afternoon in the first Test at Wembley, although given he can offer a point of difference in attack, it sounds as though the England head coach will be giving him more of a go this afternoon.

“I imagine Mikey is going to have more minutes,” Wane said.

“There was a lot of talk about bringing him earlier in game two. When you look at what he did, I won’t hesitate this week to bring him on earlier.”

Sam Burgess
Former England captain on BBC One

England have scored one try [throughout the series]. Other than that, they have not looked likely in a lot of ways. Australia have a great cover defence. When we look the most dangerous is when there is short passes between the forwards.

From game one to game two England improved drastically. In my heart today, I am thinking England are going to be better.

James Graham
Former England forward on BBC One

George Williams and Harry Smith have got to go to the line, and they have got to be prepared to take knocks. Otherwise, it is easily predictable and easily read.

Jamie Peacock
Former England captain on BBC One

The idea this week for England is to get the detail right with their attack. Go to the line and go in numbers.

Jez Litten was spot on (see 14:02 post) wasn't he? While England have made four line breaks in the series so far, Australia have made 11 across the first two Tests and that's equated to 6-1 in terms of tries scored.

With that in mind England's attack has come in for some serious criticism.

Former hooker Josh Hodgson has said it's been “hard to watch”, while former Kangaroos prop Willie Mason labelled England's attack as "very pedestrian" on the Back 10 podcast., external

It’s block through block, out the back, out the back and with the Australian defences they’re just too good,” Mason said.

“You had to hit a straight line and you didn’t do that at all. Our defences are too good, you’ve got to try something else. They just don’t have that danger.”

Matt Newsum
BBC Sport Rugby League reporter on BBC Radio 5 Live

Joe Burgess had a spell in Australia rugby league with Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

He has been a consistent scorer for Salford. He then joined Hull KR and put silverware in his personal and club's team cabinet.

He is a good lad to have around the group.

In terms of his performances, he has earned a crack being back on the international scene again.

England's Kallum Watkins, on whether the gap between them and Australia has grown since the 2017 World Cup final - in which he played: "I don't think so, we have been really close. We have a good core group of players, it is about giving them the experience of playing in these games. This Test series has been a platform for that, building up to the World Cup.

"It's the small details. We can match them physically, we showed that last week, and we have made chances - we just have to execute them."

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A note about the kit. England will play in red today as part of the Remembrance tributes taking place this afternoon. This is the match closest to Remembrance Sunday, which is tomorrow.

There will be a ceremony of Remembrance around 14:20 GMT. Members of the Armed Forces Rugby League will carry the Ashes trophy on to the pitch. That will be followed by by the laying of wreaths by representatives of England and Australia as the teams emerge from the tunnel underneath the North Stand.

The Last Post will then be played by Cdt Jacob Gill, and that will be followed by a minute’s silence.

Mike Whalley
BBC Sport rugby league reporter at Headingley

Plenty of reminders on the approach to the stadium of what a rich sporting area this is. And how much history has been made here.

Emma Smith
BBC Sport at Headingley

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Australia teams are rarely popular when they tour England, in any sport - but the current rugby league side seem to have bucked the trend.

Reece Walsh and Nathan Cleary have been popular with autograph hunters, while the Australian team engaged with the locals this week by doing their captain's run in Leeds.

England meanwhile have been camped on the other side of the Pennines, with their training camp and media engagements taking place in Wigan.

One cannot help but feel the Aussies have won the PR battle, as well as on the pitch.

Image source, SWpix

Image source, SWpix

When I was leaving Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium last Saturday, the number of fans of both teams hanging around waiting for Reece Walsh was something else.

The Brisbane Broncos full-back may only have played twice for Australia but it very much feels like he is on the way to becoming rugby league's version of Michael Jordan.

The 23-year-old was courteous as he stopped to have photos with young children and when you see clips of the likes of Nathan Cleary and others taking the time to go and chat to children watching training at Headingley this week, it's exactly what the game should be about.