JOSH Hodgson and Joe Westerman helped England get their Four Nations campaign off to the best possible start with a hard-fought 32-26 win over Samoa.
A topsy-turvy clash in Brisbane was a fantastic advertisement for the opening of the tournament and individuals shone throughout for England.
Michael Shenton opened the scoring after superb work from debutant Daryl Clark on his first-ever touch of the ball.
But Samoa weren't too far behind when Isaac Liu's converted score levelled things up, before Daniel Vidot scored on the edge to put Samoa ahead.
Kallum Watkins ensured England went into half-time in front, before Gareth Widdop's penalty goal gave Steve McNamara's side a 14-10 lead at the break.
Liam Farrell carried on where England left off by going through a gaping hole in the opponent's defence, but Pita Godinet single handedly brought Samoa back into it with a quickfire brace.
In a real end-to-end clash, Joel Tomkins scooped up a pass from Shenton to score, whilst brother Sam Tomkins also got in on the act with a superb reach-out try.
Antonio Winterstein set up a tense finale but England held on for a vital opening win in the 2014 Four Nations.
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