The breakthrough came after just five minutes. Having started slowly in the first two Tests, Australia raced out of the blocks here.
A looping pass from Cameron Munster out to the left wing found Josh Addo-Carr as the extra man and he crossed in the corner.
Joe Burgess – playing his first England game in 10 years – conceded a knock-on to turn over possession in a dangerous area, although replays showed he may have been stripped in the tackle.
Australia coach Kevin Walters had promised his team were “all-in” on this supposed dead rubber, and a team bearing only one change from the second Test – captain Isaah Yeo returning from concussion – threatened to run riot.
It went from bad to worse for England as full-back AJ Brimson suffered a shoulder injury just 10 minutes in. He was replaced by Mikey Lewis – a talented player but out of his depth in an unnatural position for him. He was targeted by Australia throughout the match.
And it looked like the game might be done and dusted when Australia went 12-0 ahead. Another England mistake – Morgan Knowles knocking on – gave the Kangaroos possession 20 metres from the line. They made it count, Munster with the grubber kick grounded by Hudson Young as Lewis failed to cover.
When England attacked, it was for a long time the same scenario seen at Wembley and in Liverpool where they scored only one try in two games – plenty of effort but a lack of creativity.
That was until Jez Litten kicked them into gear with a stunning break following a rare Reece Walsh error, followed by a moment of quick thinking as he kicked through under pressure for captain George Williams to chase and score.
England ended the half stronger and narrowed the gap to four points with the final action of the half, Harry Smith threading a penalty.
As in the previous two Tests, Australia started purposefully after the interval and thought they had a third try as Addo-Carr shrugged off a Lewis tackle to score, but it was disallowed for offside.
England then played like a side given a new lease of life. Suddenly the play was creative, high tempo and risky.
The partisan Headingley crowd responded, with fans from the rugby league heartland of Leeds showing their appreciation.
Australia were suddenly rattled. Melees broke out and golden boy Walsh claimed contact from an England knee.
But Australia are the number one team on the planet and reigning world champions for a reason. Another England error – Lewis adding to his bad day with a loose tackle – led directly to Grant touching down under the posts.
The final words had to go to Walsh, who has become a global star with his displays against England. He added the final two tries, taking his personal series tally to four and completing a scoreline to firmly put the home team in their place.
