MELBOURNE’S AAMI Park holds a few painful memories that Wolves skipper Chris Hill is keen to erase.

On his and England’s last visit, they came as close to beating Australia as they have in recent years.

They lost 16-12 in the 2014 Four Nations, but it could have been so different had Ryan Hall not had a try in the final minute controversially not given by video referee Bernard Sutton.

The sides have met once since then, with the Green and Golds securing a comfortable 38-16 win in last year’s Four Nations.

Hill started that game and also played in the last World Cup meeting between the teams as Australia won the 2013 opener 28-20 in Cardiff.

However, the 2014 meeting still haunts Hill and he sees Friday’s World Cup opener, in which he will start in the front row, as the perfect opportunity for revenge.

“We played them in Melbourne before and have been fingertips away from getting a win when Hally looked to have got that ball down,” he said.

“We want to rectify that result and get our campaign off to a great start.

“We want to win our group, it’s as simple as that, and to do that we have to beat Australia.

“We’ll let them worry about us, we can’t build them up too much.

“They are human beings, just like us. We’ve been so close to them before.”

With 19 caps to his name so far, the Warrington prop is one of the more experienced members of Wayne Bennett’s England squad.

While Wigan’s Sean O’Loughlin takes the official captaincy role, Hill is the only other Super League-based squad member who leads their club side.

Sam Burgess (South Sydney), James Graham (ex-Canterbury) and Gareth Widdop (St George Illawarra) skippered their sides in the NRL and Hill says he is happy to play a leadership role with his country.

The 29-year-old also says the squad have placed high expectations upon themselves for the tournament.

“There’s a lot of experience in there but we’ve also got a lot of youngsters,” he said.

“It’s a good mixture. We’ve been around each other for a few years so we know each other’s traits.

“I want to step up and be a leader. It’s a role I’m more than happy to take on.

“The Samoa Test was a really good warm-up and we learnt a lot from it. It stands us in really good stead.

“There’s always expectations with England and so there should be.

“We’re a nation that should be competing for silverware, it’s as simple as that.

“There’ll be a bit of pressure there, but we’ll worry about ourselves and let everyone else worry about us.

“It has been a disappointing year for Warrington, but we’ve got four players from ourselves who will do England proud.

“Winning the World Cup would end the year on a massive high and that’s what I want to do.”

* Here's some of Chris Hill's memories of England's last World Cup game, a last-gasp defeat to the Kiwis in the 2013 semi final at Wembley: