There have been thumpings galore but make no mistake, Australia are levels ABOVE England and New Zealand

[josie andrews]

ELLERY HANLEY: …… at the Rugby League World Cup! They were PERFECT against Scotland

England, New Zealand and Australia all picked up thumping wins this week

However, the Aussies demonstrated that they are currently a level above

Mal Meninga's side were close to perfect in their 84-point win over Scotland

England and New Zealand need to match Australia's concentration levels

National Lottery players are supporting the Rugby League World Cup in England

Another week down, and we're now getting to the point of the competition where the real contenders start to hit their straps, so it was no surprise to see three thumping results last weekend.

Look, we all hoped there wouldn't be too many blowout scores during the group stage, but when the balance in quality is so uneven the likes of England, New Zealand and Australia's focus moves away from the result and more on how they go about their business for the full 80 minutes.

And that's why England disappointed me against France. I was so pleased with how they kicked off their tournament against Samoa in Newcastle, but they have taken a step backwards since then, and Shaun Wane will know that they need to improve.

They made too many mistakes, their error count was far too high and you simply won't get away with that at the pointy end of the competition.

You have to be a full time professional with everything you do in life. That is the way I am programmed. Since retiring, I've taken up racquetball and, I'll be honest, I'm absolutely relentless. No matter how poor the opposition, I'm not going to try different things just because the opponent is weak. I want to win every single point.

I could see that England did not have that ruthless mentality. This is what separates the good teams from the best teams - your intensity and concentration has to be at its maximum for the whole game.

I don't want to put any players out to dry, but because I regard him so highly, I have to talk about Dom Young's performance. He's brilliant, but he's got to learn that when you're winning by a comfortable margin, don't try and squeeze the ball out of the back door and offload. It wasn't necessary.

These are the little things you just can't get away with. If they happen against Australia or New Zealand, England will be in tricky water.

Likewise, New Zealand put in a great individual performance against Jamaica, but for me, they weren't clinical enough and again they fell short on concentration and intensity.

You can't turn up on a World Cup final day and think "right, we're all going to lock in now." I've been in the huddle with the boys when they're all saying the right things, but I'm thinking to myself "I haven't seen you do any of the things you're talking about this past week, in previous games as well".

You can't seriously think everything is going to click all of a sudden, you've got to build winning habits.

Which is why I was blown away by Australia last Friday night. Yes, they played a Scotland side made up of amateurs but they were first class in absolutely everything they did. In fact, Australia were close to perfection.

Jonathan Davies said at half time that the Aussies put in the best defensive display he had seen in rugby league. They were exceptional, I won't dispute that - but he clearly doesn't remember the brutal battle between my Wigan Warriors and Manly back in 1987, when neither side scored a single try!

Regardless, Australia were virtually error-free and were absolutely relentless. They've been that way for years, it's why they've dominated for so long - they don't know any other way of approaching the game.

The incredible skill from Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr for the winger's fourth try grabbed the headlines and it was an unbelievable score, but it typified the professionalism and high standards of Mal and his team to give 100 per cent until the very end. I have so much admiration for them.

As for Nathan Cleary, Mal will be rubbing his hands with glee knowing he's got him in his ranks. I have no doubt that he will be Australia's starting halfback and he set the tone in terms of concentration levels from the off. It was the perfect debut.

The most impressive thing for me about the Australians is that they are so level-headed.

Plenty of great sporting teams have been undone by huge personalities driving a wedge across the group, but there are no egos in that squad and, with the strength of depth at his disposal, Mal will not hesitate to wield the axe if any bad apples arise.

So, if you thought the loss of a handful of players to the Pacific Islands would weaken Australia, think again. Make no mistake, they are the team to beat.

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