This mess is of the NZRL’s own creation

Sure, we can all put the boot into David Kidwell. There is no doubt the Kiwis coach deserves his fair share of the blame, as do many of the players, who let the jersey down on and off the field.

But to focus on where their performances went wrong over the past two weeks would be missing the bigger picture.

This is an alarming time for the sport. Rugby league in this country was already on the decline but the early exit from the World Cup has set it back years.

Given what’s happened over the past 12 months, there is not much faith that the current New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) setup can steer the game out of this mess.

With the rare opportunity of multiple matches on homes soil, this was a chance for the Kiwis to leave a legacy – at least that was the line coming out of NZRL headquarters.

It’s one thing to make such grand statements, but it’s another to have the right plans in place to actually see it through.

Yes, the NZRL were thrown a curve ball when Stephen Kearney left to join the Warriors a year out from the tournament.

Even if Kidwell was the most logical choice to take over, they failed to give him adequate support when he was thrown into the deep end during last year’s Four Nations.

If the results from that tour, which included a dreadful draw with Scotland, were not enough to have the alarm bells ringing, then the Anzac test debacle surely should have.

Putting aside the cocaine scandal for a second, the Kiwis assembled their strongest team in two years for that match yet were still down 24-0 at halftime. A tough decision around the coaching staff needed to be made then.

To their credit, the NZRL responded by bringing in a couple of experienced Australians in Shane Richardson and Brian Smith. But it was embarrassing watching them being rejected by assistant coach after assistant coach.

Regardless, whatever they did was ultimately was too late.

The response now is to launch yet another review, which the NZRL seem to specialise in these days. It all seems like a pointless exercise, like having a policy which states the head coach has to be a New Zealander while having very little in the way of coaching development pathways.

Let’s just getting on with appointing the people who are capable of giving the sport some much-needed direction.

The great Wayne Bennett has left the door open for the NZRL to make him an approach.

Even if there is reluctance to look to Australia, there are still several Kiwis with enough rugby league knowledge and respect to help turn things around. Just look at Brian McClennan’s post-match reaction and tell me he wouldn’t want to be involved.

Rather wasting time with a review, now is the time for someone to step up and show some leadership.

Kiwis coaching great Graham Lowe said it best this week that if the current board and management are not willing to do so, it’s time to step aside for someone who will.