Aaron Woods says the Australia forward have vowed to protect Cooper Cronk in the World Cup final

AFTER England put the hurt on Cooper Cronk in the tournament opener, Australian forward Aaron Woods says the Kangaroos won’t allow the Poms to repeat the dose in the final.

Rugby League World Cup opening match at AAMI Park, Australia v England, Friday October 27, 2017. Cooper Cronk in action. Picture: Mark Stewart

THE Kangaroos have literally got their noses out of joint over the treatment of Cooper Cronk.

Cronk played through a broken nose to help Australia beat England in the Rugby League World Cup opener five weeks ago, and the forward pack hasn’t forgotten. That’s why spearhead prop Aaron Woods has issued a call-to-arms for his fellow middle men to protect their halfback when the two nations meet again in Saturday’s final.

Cronk broke his nose in the tournament opener.

Woods admitted Australia tried similar tactics during last week’s semi-final win over Fiji.

“In the game you don’t want it to happen but that’s one of the big things. We had to do the same thing on the weekend with Jarryd Hayne,” Woods said. “You’ve got to be put pressure on the halves, that’s where a lot of the football comes from. (It’s) a bit of respect to Cooper at the same time, they’re trying to take him out of the game.” In what has been a long build-up to the decider, the Kangaroos have had a slow start but will ramp up their preparations with their main field session of the week on Wednesday.

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Planning for another English bodyline barrage on Cronk is likely to be on the agenda.

“Probably myself, (David Klemmer), and Joshy McGuire in the middle will have to protect him a bit more. You don’t want to see him get another broken nose,” Woods said.

Second-rower Matt Gillett said Cronk has always bounced back from rough treatment, including against England in Melbourne.

England are expected to target the star halfback again.

The veteran halfback helped set up one of Australia’s three tries of the night. “As a half and the player Cooper is, he expects that sort of thing. (They) try and shake him off his game a bit and get him second-guessing and having a look around,” Gillett said.

“But we’ve all seen how Cooper performs in big games and the way he controls a footy game. I think that’s his role that he takes on board. I think he did a great job.

“Obviously he’s a small player so he’s expected to take a few blows like that. But it’s what he does after it, which is play footy and lead the team around.”

Originally published as Aaron Woods says the Australia forward have vowed to protect Cooper Cronk in the World Cup final