England will hope to have Smith available after his hat-trick

England coach Tony Smith has rated Lee Smith as a major doubt for Sunday's World Cup match against Australia.

The debutant winger, who has a foot injury, scored a hat-trick as England claimed a 32-22 victory over Papua New Guinea in their opening game.

"Lee is still a worry. He's going to be unlikely (to play) but you never know," said the coach.

"He's responding well to treatment. We won't cross him off altogether but he's up against it."

Smith trained away from the main group on Monday with his foot encased in a moon boot.

If the Leeds star is ruled out of Sunday's Group A clash in Melbourne, England are likely to turn to former Wigan winger Mark Calderwood to fill the gap.

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"That would be the logical call but we haven't made that call yet," added the coach, who also hinted at making additional changes in the wake of England's stuttering performance against Papua New Guinea.

"There are probably going to be a few adjustments," said Smith.

"We need to look over the Australia game first before we make a final call.

"Maybe if we see something we can exploit and we've got someone in the squad to do that we'd certainly consider that. I've never picked a team without watching the opposition first.

"It's all about making sure our strengths are up to speed and exploiting weaknesses where they are in the opposition and we'll do that throughout the week."

Harlequins captain Rob Purdham was England's 18th man against the Kumuls and could be in line for involvement against Australia.

Reigning champions Australia, the overwhelming favourites for the tournament, opened their campaign with an impressive 30-6 defeat of New Zealand but coach Smith is confident his side can improve enough to match the hosts.

While you have faith, you never know what might happen England coach Tony Smith

"We've got a bit of faith in what we're doing and while you have faith, you never know what might happen."

So far in the tournament, the different interpretation of northern and southern hemisphere referees at the ruck has come in for scrutiny, but Smith said he is not worried by the appointment of Australian official Tony Archer for the clash with the Kangaroos.

British referee Steve Ganson penalised Tonga heavily in Monday's Group C game against Ireland, with southern hemisphere players accustomed to being able to slow down the play-the-ball far more than in Super League.

"I've got no problem with the appointment," said Smith.

"He's considered their number one referee and he was in charge of last year's Kiwi series so he's got some understanding of how we play.

"He knows the players' names, which always helps, and we know what he looks for."

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