FORMER Wigan and Great Britain ace Denis Betts has rubbished Gary Schofield's gloomy Test match prediction for the Lions.

Former national skipper Schofield expects a landslide win for the Kangaroos and has criticised the decision to fly half-way around the world for a single fixture.

But Betts, now Warriors' academy coach, has defended tomorrow's one-off Test and says the Brit pack have what it takes to pull off a shock result against the world champions.

"I think they can win it. They have the right personnel playing on top of their game who can go out there and compete for the 80 minutes," he said.

"We've got some great players in Paul Sculthorpe, Paul Wellens, Andy Farrell and Kris Radlinski, who are all in form.

"These are all big time players, many of them with Grand Final experience behind them. All they need is self belief and to be competitive.

"People have said that one-off Test matches are not what we need but I think it's vital that we play as many international matches as possible to raise the profile of the British game.

"This match builds on the momentum created by a competitive Ashes series last year and I think it will be a fantastic experience for all the players."

Much of the build-up to the latest Anglo-Aussie clash has centred on the devastating potential of the Green and Gold's scrum half and skipper, Andrew Johns. But Betts, another member of Mal Reilly's 1992 Lions squad, said the key battles would be waged in the pack.

"We've got to match the Aussies up front because they will try to get over the top of the British lads with their big forwards. We have to be physical and stand up to them," he said.

"We can use our skills to break them down out wide but it's up to the likes of Terry O'Connor, Barrie McDermott, Stuart Fielden and Keiron Cunningham to lay the foundations down the middle.

"We have always done well in the first matches of Test series and then fallen away. That's obviously a problem that needs addressing but in this match anything can happen."