SUPER LEAGUE Man of Steel James Graham is ready to answer England’s call in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium.

The St Helens prop was wrapped in cotton wool when the sides met in their final pool match last Saturday and, although coach Tony Smith has yet to finalise his line-up, Graham will be expected to lead England’s bid for a place in the World Cup final.

England are desperately in need of a boost after they frittered away a 24-8 lead to go down 36-24 to the Kiwis in Newcastle, but Graham insists they are primed to bounce back.

"I just think it’s important that we stick together as a team," he said. "Whatever the 17 that Tony decides to pick, we’ve got to really concentrate on doing a job.

"Obviously, they’ll be pretty confident because they’ve got players to come in as well.

"We’ve been put down by the press and the general public – everyone has the right to their opinion – but we can’t allow ourselves to get dragged down."

Graham, 23, was on the losing side for the first time in his senior international career when England were thumped 52-4 by Australia in Melbourne and he cannot wait to get back out on the field and help make amends.

"Obviously, Tony had his reasons for not playing me last Saturday," he said. "I want to play in every game but Tony decides what is best for the team.

"I’m just a young kid and maybe what I think is not what is best for the team in the long run. He’s been there and done it and I’m happy to do whatever he wants me to do."

Smith appeared to throw up a smokescreen ahead of Saturday’s game by naming an initial squad that excluded Ade Gardner and Danny McGuire.

St Helens winger Gardner and Leeds stand-off McGuire were both expected to return after being rested for last Saturday’s ‘dress rehearsal’. But they were conspicuous by their absence when England met the World Cup obligations by naming a 19- man squad yesterday.

Smith, who has shown signs of being under pressure after three disappointing performances by his team, was unavailable for comment while media manager Andrew Whitelam said the management were still monitoring certain players and the squad could change before Saturday.

The England players were enjoying a day off today and no media access was available.

Apart from Gardner and McGuire, the players left out of the official squad were St Helens prop Maurie Fa’asavalu, who has a broken hand, and Bradford duo Paul Sykes and Paul Langley.

England are thought to have lingering injury doubts over full-back Paul Wellens and stand-off Leon Pryce, which could significantly affect Smith’s plans.

If Wellens fails to recover from ankle ligament damage, Lee Smith will switch from wing to full-back and Gardner will take on the job of marking Manu Vatuvei, the four-try hero of the Kiwis’ 36-24 win over England last Saturday.

If Pryce is still troubled by a rib injury, McGuire would be his natural replacement, especially after outplaying him in the Super League Grand Final.

New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney joined in the cat-and-mouse game by declining to name his team, although World Cup organisers expect a Kiwis squad tomorrow.

Meanwhile, England lost their bid to have a northern hemisphere referee put in charge of Saturday’s match, with Australian Shayne Hayne, who refereed England’s opening pool match against Papua New Guinea, given the job.

It means England will have had Australian referees in charge of all four of their matches in the tournament so far, with Tony Archer controlling their games against Australia and New Zealand.

A plea by Smith to World Cup referees chief Mick Stone to have either Steve Ganson or Australia-born Ashley Klein, the Rugby Football League’s two officials on the referees panel, fell on deaf ears, although Ganson has been named as the reserve.

"In the tournament manual drawn up prior to the tournament, it was agreed that appointments would be made on merit and, where merit permits, we would appoint on the basis of neutrality," said Stone.

Klein will be in charge of the second semi-final on Sunday between Australia and Fiji.England’s 19-man squad: P Wellens (St Helens), M Calderwood (Wigan), M Gleeson (Warrington), K Senior (Leeds), L Smith (Leeds), L Pryce (St Helens), R Burrow (Leeds), A Morley (Warrington), M Higham (Wigan), J Peacock (Leeds, capt), G Ellis (Leeds), J Jones-Buchanan, R Purdham (Harlequins), J Graham (St Helens), B Westwood (Warrington), J Roby (St Helens), K Sinfield (Leeds), J Wilkin (St Helens), G Hock (Wigan).