Peter Jessup: Repeat dose from Kiwis essential

It is crucial for the future of New Zealand league that the Kiwis back up their Tri-Nations win with a strong performance in next year's Anzac test.

The team has lifted the game to new heights, but another flip-flop, as in previous years will make it tough to retain the new interest from fans, sponsors and broadcasters when the 2006 Tri-Nations rolls around.

Despite the fact that Great Britain did not make the final, the NZRL expects the tournament to return a profit and hopes to gain a substantial payment, though not as high as the $1 million from last year.

That money will quickly be soaked up in development, where plenty of talent is coming through.

The Kiwis need to keep winning, to keep those kids interested in following in their footsteps and out of the battle with other codes.

Already there is more interest from players, with former Kiwis who were not part of the tour openly expressing their intention to press for places next year.

Headlining that list are Benji Marshall and Sonny Bill Williams. Other recent Kiwis who did not play in the series include Dene Halatau, Jamaal Lolesi, Matt Utai, Jason Cayless, Lesley Vainikolo, Andrew Lomu, Joe Galuvao, Sione Faumuina and Francis Meli.

And there will be pressure for places from youngsters like Bronson Harrison, who toured but didn't play the big games, and Roosters' centre Iosaia Soliola, who ended a good debut NRL season injured.

Coach Brian McClennan is sure to be reappointed some day soon. The NZRL wants him and he wants to carry on in the job, so it is a matter of contract details, length of term, and how the league can turn the poor wages of the Kiwis' coach into a coaching package to keep "Bluey" employed and paid year-round.

His technical adviser, Graeme Norton, made the point on returning to New Zealand that one of the things he'd learned was how quickly everything goes stale. They had to keep changing things to keep the players mentally fresh.

The pair are astute tacticians of the game and good leaders of men, with repeated successes in the domestic game at the highest levels.

Though McClennan commented post-final that he didn't think he was up to NRL standard and needed to learn a bit more, many would back him to out-think a good number of the current NRL coaches.

The next time Australia and New Zealand meet will be on May 5, the venue to be determined.

The win to New Zealand in Leeds and the earlier victory in Sydney will have thrown doubt into the Aussies' minds about where to play the game.

They always used to win in Sydney, so played there more often than anywhere else, yet last year's game in Brisbane was a near sellout and good for the books of both nations.

The next Tri-Nations series is being financially underwritten by the Australian Rugby League, which will have the big say in where the games are played next October/November. The final will be in Australia.

The NZRL hopes to negotiate to play both its tests against the Lions here, plus one against the Kangaroos.

The five venues in contention for a match are Jade Stadium in Christchurch, Wellington's Cake Tin, Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, Ericsson and Eden Park.

The ARL and NZRL begin talks on the next series in coming days but the finer details will not be sorted until the Rugby League International Federation meets in February. Opening shots from the two sides have been fired. NZRL chairman Selwyn Pearson said he hoped the New Zealanders would now be taken more seriously after years of being treated as second-rate. ARL boss Geoff Carr denied that had ever been the case.

Pre-series, the pair had been exchanging testy messages about field size and neutral referees.

The recriminations that continue to wrack Australian league will knock their national team about, and the Kiwis will feature more strongly in the betting line in May.

Carr and the ARL board have backed Wayne Bennett for the Kangaroos' coaching job for next year, but attacks on him continued this week after he opted to accept a Customs officer's offer of using a side door from Brisbane airport to avoid media waiting to question him about the series loss.

"He's got a responsibility to the public and the ARL. It's part of the deal to front the media," said former captain Max Krilich.

Says another test captain and now media commentator Laurie Daley: "A lot of people out there are after answers and they deserve them. It's disappointing. A lot of people want to know why Australia didn't play at their best."

The Kangaroos will come back hard. Our team had better be ready.