Gareth Ellis, the world’s best second-rower, is raring to rip into the Kangaroos in the Four Nations final this weekend.

He spoke to Wests Tigers Media Officer Wayne Cousins about the final, playing against his Wests Tigers captain Robbie Farah, to returning to Concord Oval.

Wests Tigers thank Gareth, Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah for giving the club and its supporters an insight into the Four Nations tournament.

WC: Is this Gareth Ellis the tryscorer? Perhaps you need to bring some English soil back if it means you will score for Wests Tigers?

GE: Yes, it was nice to finally get a try after such a long time. Hopefully it won't take as long for the next one to come along. I need to pull my finger out next year in that area.

WC: How was it playing against Robbie Farah. How did you rate his Test debut?

GE: It was great to see Robbie in the green and gold. It was well deserved and I was very pleased for him. It is a special moment any time you play for your country but the first one is extra special as it is a reward for all the hard work you put in to get there.

WC: Last weekend’s Test against the Kiwis was a fiery encounter. Did you feel the platform was laid on the back of the strong second half comeback against Australia the week before?

GE: Yes, although we didn't get carried away with that second half performance as we still lost the game. I think it has set down a marker for the way we should play. At this level, we can't wait to see what the opposition throw at us before we start to perform. I think we restored some pride in the England jersey over the course of that 40 minutes and installed some self-belief in ourselves which kick started our competition.

WC: What do England need to do better to get on top of the Kangaroos?

GE: Australia has a few players that can score tries from anywhere on the field, so that’s the challenge for us. We need to limit their opportunities and not allow them to get a roll on whilst maybe getting a roll on of our own. There hasn’t been a game in this competition yet that hasn't been physical so that’s something both teams will be wanting to dominate over during the course of the game.

WC: Take us through the feeling of playing in front of the English crowds. When you are winning, you hear plenty of singing. As we saw against Australia, they booed England off the field after the first half performance?

GE: To be fair, they had a lot to be angry about. The English crowds are very vocal with lots of singing and chanting and have even been known to have a few instruments in the crowd. The booing at half-time was more of a ‘here we go again, another English side getting thumped by Australia’. I think they have had enough of being second best or worse on the international stage or maybe that’s what I was thinking at half time along with the rest of the team. We turned up to play in the second half.

WC: How is Gareth Ellis feeling heading into his final match for 2009 after a demanding season in the NRL?

GE: I’m feeling very good. Games like this don't come along very often and I feel privileged to be apart of this game. It is a massive opportunity for us. It may feel like a long season for most but this year playing in the NRL has been quite refreshing in terms of how many games I've played. I have felt the benefits of having an eight week pre-season in the build up to the 2009 season. The Super league boys will have played around 35 games this year with their season starting way back in late January, so it doesn't leave much time for pre-seasons unfortunately.

WC: When do you return to pre-season training at Concord to begin preparing for your second season with Wests Tigers?

GE: I'll be having a few weeks at home after the final, spending time with the family and catching up with friends before my partner, Rachael, and I head back. It would have been nice to spend Christmas in England but Rachael is now 28 weeks pregnant, so we couldn't leave it too late to fly back or the baby could be born in Bangkok. The weather has now turned for the worse here. I have had to scrape the ice off the car’s windshield the past couple of mornings.

WC: Finally, you were this week named the world’s best second-rower by the Rugby League International Federation. Congratulations on the award.

GE: Whilst its always an honour to receive awards, rugby league is a team sport so a lot of the credit has to go to the players who play alongside me. I’ve had a really enjoyable year on and off the field which is the best marker for me to assess how I’ve gone this season, although I can think of one more thing that would just make this year a little better!