Motivation is high and burnout not a factor for captain Simon Mannering as New Zealand prepare to face England with both teams aiming to seal a spot in the Four Nations rugby league final.

The Kiwis were flat in sneaking a late 14-12 win over Samoa last weekend but Mannering rules out the effects of a long season as a factor.

“I’m feeling pretty good, to be honest,” he said on Friday.

“The Warriors were not part of the NRL finals so I had a bit of a break then before I started training with the Kiwis.”

But Mannering, a veteran of 37 Tests and more than 200 NRL games, also said representing New Zealand should refresh in itself.

“We don’t play a lot of Tests on home soil so that helps switch us on,” he said.

“The format for this tournament is short and sharp. There is a lot to play for and playing big games in New Zealand is a big motivating factor.”

The back-rower said the Kiwis hadn’t had many opportunities to play at home in recent times and he hoped that would change with the success of the present tournament.

New Zealand face England in Dunedin on Saturday night, while Australia host Samoa in Wollongong on Sunday, with all four teams still in contention for the final.

Mannering said Samoa knocked out any complacency that might have been in the New Zealand camp after their 30-12 victory over the Kangaroos.

“It was probably good for us after the Test against Australia,” he said.

“It brought us down to earth and put things into perspective. We’ll be approaching the Test on Saturday as a must-win match against a very good England side.”

Mannering said the Kiwis’ kicking game would be important, but added: “It’s the energy of the players who are chasing the kick which forces the errors.”

Coach Stephen Kearney said all players had reported fit after the captain’s run at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Kearney said there were plenty of lessons from the Samoa match.

“We weren’t satisfied,” he said.

“The onus is on everyone to step up. The forwards and backs both need to improve.”