KEY POINTS:
Great Britain 23 Australia 12
SYDNEY - Great Britain halfback Sean Long has finally got the international monkey off his back with a performance that should have league clubs searching for their cheque books.
After an inauspicious opening in which the St Helens star was floored by a cheap shot from Kangaroos enforcer Willie Mason and threw an intercept for Australia's first try, Long recovered to mastermind Great Britain's first win in Australia since 1992 at Aussie Stadium on Saturday.
As well as setting up the Lions' opening try for Paul Wellens, Long constantly created confusion in the Australian defence with his pace and ability to run the ball.
His kicking game was also on song as he kept the Kangaroos pegged in their own half, but Long refused to take too much credit for engineering the stirring four-tries-to-two win.
"It's tough to come here [to Sydney] and get the win ... the boys just dug deep tonight," Long said.
"Everyone bagged us in the press this week saying we were poor last week against the Kiwis ... we only had two training sessions together.
"But this week we've had a few more training sessions together and we seem to be getting better."
Despite years of stunning success at club level - including an unprecedented three man-of-the-match awards in the Challenge Cup final - Long admitted coming into the tournament that he had failed to deliver internationally. Not any more.
It was the type of performance that would have made more than a few National Rugby League clubs sit up and take notice, but with one year still remaining on his contract with Saints, the 30-year-old may have missed his chance for a crack at the NRL.
While Long was loath to blow his own trumpet, St Helens and Lions teammate Leon Pryce was in doubt as to the difference between the two sides at Aussie Stadium.
"Man of the match tonight, I don't think we could have won the game without him," Pryce said of his scrumbase partner. "People have been knocking him, saying he can't perform at this level ... he proved to a lot of people he can more than do that and he led from the front."
Long brushed off the extra attention he received from Mason, labelling it part and parcel of test football.
As well as the high shot in the 10th minute which resulted in a cut above his right eye and Mason being placed on report, the Australian back rower constantly ran out of the line looking to put a shot on the cheeky No 7.
"It was just tough luck," said Long.
"He's a big tough guy and that's what test football's all about.
"You've got to have a bit of biff, otherwise it's not worth playing."
- AAP
