Games at home will help team

Based on the evidence offered in the Anzac test on Friday night, the Kiwis need regular exposure to the Kangaroos if they wish to bridge the gap in international league.

And that’s exactly what they will soon be getting, with the two nations’ governing bodies negotiating an annual fixture between the sides to be played on alternating sides of the Tasman.

To replace the traditional midyear match — the last of which saw the Kangaroos record a commanding victory of 30-12 in Canberra on Friday — New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) and their Australian counterparts have agreed to an end-of-season Kiwis-Kangaroos clash to be played each October.

And, unlike the Anzac test, on which Australian venues have long held a monopoly, the new fixture will be hosted in New Zealand every other year.

NZRL chief executive Alex Hayton yesterday said the announcement for the first match, to be played in 2018, will be made in the coming months, with the venue also confirmed then.

Crucially for Kiwi audiences, the kick-off times for matches played on this side of the Tasman will be set by the NZRL.

“The agreement that we have is that, for games in New Zealand, New Zealand Rugby League will dictate venues and kick-off times to suit what the game needs here, not only from a broadcast point of view but placing it so we can maximise crowd attendances,” Hayton told Newstalk ZB’s Tony Veitch.

“We’ve had those discussions in our broadcast negotiations with Australia around when we play the games here.

“And it has to be for New Zealand conditions — it can’t always be for Australia.”

That could mean fixtures in New Zealand interrupting the regular window for the news on Australian broadcast networks, or it could mean the matches are played during the day time.

“If you’re trying to make it a family event and get everyone along, then a late-afternoon kickoff would be an ideal time,” Hayton said.

Hayton said the NZRL was in general committed to having the Kiwis play at home more often, no matter the opposition.

Such an assurance should see tests scheduled with other international opponents in the years the Kiwis-Kangaroos fixture was set for Australia.

“We’ll play Australia in New Zealand once every two years, then there’s the likes of England and the Pacific nations who we’ve had regular contact with,” Hayton said.