Origin makes a nonsense of NRL football

OPINION: The Kiwis’ rugby league coach has spoken.

In the mind of the Kiwis’ rugby league coach, that means the discussion is over. Never mind that people remain curious about the last time the team were together in Canberra and how that night ended with captain Jesse Bromwich and senior lieutenant Kevin Proctor allegedly taking drugs outside a nightclub.

Neither Bromwich nor Proctor will now play at this year’s world cup. There are differing versions of how that decision was arrived at and why the Kiwis rugby league coach was the person to announce it.

The Kiwis’ rugby league coach has appeared before media twice in recent days and declined to answer questions on the topic. The Kiwis’ rugby league coach is working on the principle that the team is a private members’ club where his word is law. David Kidwell is the man behind the title and appears to have overestimated the importance of the Kiwis’ rugby league coach to New Zealand and the esteem in which he’s held personally.

Respect is an earned thing and being Kiwis’ rugby league coach doesn’t automatically entitle the office-holder to much. The Kiwis play infrequently and, under Kidwell, have registered just one win from six starts.

That’s not a record to make too many hearts swell with pride.

Kidwell has no track record of coaching success, either. In fact his head coaching experience is limited to under-20s football.

He might eventually fashion a fantastic coaching record. In the meantime, though, his achievements look pretty scant compared to his two international contemporaries: Wayne Bennett of England and Australia’s Mal Meninga.

That’s why this whole ‘the Kiwis rugby league coach has spoken-routine’ is so hard to fathom. Kidwell needs to get the public - not to mention the actual team - on board.

He’s relying on goodwill and declining to give adequate answers to legitimate questions is not the way to generate that.

It’s not good enough to talk about the culture and pride and values of the Kiwis rugby league team when the performances and behaviour suggest a lack.

‘‘We’ve moved on from that decision and we’re moving forward,’’ the Kiwis’ rugby league coach said. Good luck with that Money back, please State of Origin is fantastic. It certainly leaves the bulk of testmatch rugby league in the shade.

But it butchers the club competition and a solution needs to be found.

Canberra are said to be one of the NRL’s elite teams but they made extremely hard work of beating a Roosters’ team minus five Origin stars, on Sunday. Good on the guys the Roosters had out there, but if I was interested in watching reserve graders, I’d watch reserve grade.

Same with the Warriors’ win over a Broncos team minus their six best players.

Never mind the old argument of only being able to beat who the opposition put in front of you. Fact is there are some very cheap competition points to be had at this time of year, which devalue the competition.

Origin means depleted teams - not to mention broken state players then trying to back up for their clubs - playing an inferior standard of football. That’s bad enough.

But then we’ve got this whole split-round thing, where half the competition have a bye.

Four games, between weakened teams, we had this weekend. And yet all of us who have pay-TV subscriptions still stumped up full price for the ‘‘privilege’’ of watching.

It’s insult to injury.