Kidwell banking on Blair
There is a line in the superb Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia which goes: ‘‘We may be through with the past, but the past is never through with us.’’
And for the Kiwis and David Kidwell that’s something they’re continuing to live with as what was supposed to be another chance to move on with the naming of Adam Blair as the new captain, was again an opportunity to focus on the past.
The dumping of Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor for allegedly taking cocaine after the Anzac Test in Canberra was one of the most shocking moments in the history of New Zealand rugby league.
Kidwell is trying to move on and focus attention on the World Cup later this year and in naming the Broncos prop as his new skipper he’s chosen someone who he believes will do a better job at upholding standards than Bromwich did.
‘‘The important thing is, we’re moving forward,’’ Kidwell said at a press conference on Sunday morning in Auckland.
‘‘We’ve chosen a captain who lives and breathes those values we want and I know he’s got high standards and that’s what I want throughout the whole Kiwis team and the staff as well.’’
The Kiwis will be under intense scrutiny from now until the end of the World Cup and in picking Blair, Kidwell’s made a smart decision.
He is not only one of their best players, he’s a proven leader, a good communicator and great with the media, a skill which Bromwich never mastered.
Certainly no one dare step out of line on Blair’s watch.
‘‘For me it’s just making sure they (the players) live up to our standards first and foremost and I’ve got to lead that from the front,’’ Blair said.
‘‘But at the same time I’ve got some quality guys around me who really live those standards, lift our culture, remember where we’re from, how we got there and keep pushing our culture.’’
Blair has previously captained the Kiwis, sharing the role with Issac Luke on the 2015 tour to England, which they lost 2-1 and he said he learnt from that experience.
Meanwhile the Warriors remain outside the top eight, but the pressure on everyone at the club was eased after the 28-10 win over the Broncos on Saturday night.
The Broncos may have been missing six players because of State of Origin duty, but it was just the type of victory the team needed after dreadful losses to the Panthers and Dragons the previous two weeks.
Kieran Foran revealed they wanted to strip everything back against the Broncos and he and Shaun Johnson in the halves were helped by good performances from the forwards.
"We’ve been searching for answers, but we probably just peeled it back a few layers this week, went right back to the basics," Foran said. "We spoke about the fact that we wanted to tackle and run hard, you do those two things well across the park and you give yourself every opportunity of winning."
During their down patch, there was never any drop off in how how Foran played, but the Broncos game showed how much more he can do when the forwards are winning the battle up the middle.
"If you’re playing quick through the middle of the field, leaving their guys on the ground and get one guy at marker, you can really dominate that middle third of the park," Foran said.