BULLS prop Ben Kavanagh has been hailed as a key player by Scotland boss Steve McCormack as he prepares to cross swords with Australia tonight.

Kavanagh is in line to represent the Bravehearts as McCormack’s side bid to cause a major upset in the Four Nations opener at Hull KR.

The Bradford forward has emerged as a mainstay of the Scotland team in recent seasons and helped them to reach the 2013 World Cup quarter-finals.

The Bravehearts have qualified for the Four Nations for the first time thanks to their victory in the 2014 European Cup.

On the face of it, they appear to be lambs to the slaughter, but the Scots are determined to succeed where France, Papua New Guinea, Wales and Samoa failed before them by winning a Four Nations match.

And long-serving Bravehearts boss McCormack will again put his faith in Kavanagh, telling the T&A: “I signed Kav at Widnes so I know a lot about him.

“Ben is a player who has always stepped up when playing for Scotland.

“I think being at Bradford is a really good challenge for him because the Bulls are a massive club.

“It has come to a time in Ben's career when he can be a crucial player for any team he plays in.

“At training this week, he has been outstanding, so I would really like to see him have a great Four Nations with Scotland and take that into his club form at Bradford next year. I think he needs to do that.

“He performed really well in the World Cup and again last year against France, we didn't have our Super League players.

“We had a really young side out but Kav was outstanding and really stepped up against the French pack, which was full of Catalans players, and I'm always delighted to get him on board.

“I think Ben is at the stage of his career now where he really needs to kick on and perform like he can for us and then hopefully have a good year at Bradford.”

Danny Addy will line up for Scotland tonight at the home of his new club alongside Dale Ferguson, who has left Bradford and joined Huddersfield.

McCormack added: “We're not going to be in this competition to just lie down, get autographs and swap jerseys at the end of it. We're here to have a good crack at it.”

Former Bulls boss Steve McNamara has joined the New Zealand Warriors on a two-year contract as the club's assistant coach.