KEY POINTS:
A Kiwi face with a supercoach pulling the strings ... this is the recipe New Zealand Rugby League is confident will help them close the door on a disastrous 2007 and give them the best chance at World Cup success later this year.
Former Kiwi forward and Melbourne assistant Stephen Kearney has been appointed head coach of the national side, with departing Broncos coach Wayne Bennett agreeing to come on as coaching and management adviser.
Yesterday's announcement ended weeks of speculation with the "will or will not Bennett sign" saga swinging back and forth even hours before the NZRL revealed the make-up of their coaching team.
Bennett was obviously the NZRL's first choice for the top job, but the six-time NRL premiership winning coach was adamant a Kiwi should be at the helm.
"I'm keen to help New Zealand rugby league but I believe it's vital that the coach is a New Zealander," Bennett said in a statement.
That tends to suggest the appointments of Kearney and Bennett is more of an arrangement they came up with rather than an NZRL initiative.
NZRL chairman Ray Haffenden said Kearney was appointed to the head coaching role upon the advice of Bennett.
"Maybe, as some people have suggested, his time has come sooner than expected but in Wayne Bennett's opinion, in our conversation we had in Australia, he said he's ready now. Who am I to argue with Wayne Bennett?" Haffenden said.
Since taking up an assistant role at the Storm, Kearney has always been a Kiwis coach in waiting, but he suggested last year that he was still two years off being ready to take up a head coaching position. The inclusion of Bennett in the mix seems to have swayed Kearney sooner.
"Given the support staff we've assembled around the team, with obviously Wayne being involved. I'm super confident I can do a good job there," Kearney said.
The 35-year-old admits the opportunity to coach at international level came earlier than he ever imagined but now the job has landed in his lap he is confident he can take the ball and run with it.
"I wouldn't have dreamed it would come this quickly but obviously the circumstances have fallen my way. It's a great opportunity if you look at it working with Wayne Bennett - I don't have to tell you his history. I'm sure the players will appreciate that too."
The nuts and bolts of the working arrangement are still to be finalised, but Kearney said he was confident he would be given space to do his job.
"Wayne's comment was 'mate it's bit like a teenager-parent relationship. You make the decisions and I'll just live with them'."
Though the former Kiwis captain's coaching experience is still limited, Haffenden said he did not have any reservations over Kearney's ability to do the job. After Gary Kemble's failings last season, appointing another rookie coach is somewhat of a gamble for the NZRL, but Haffenden said Kearney has the right pedigree to be a top international coach.
"He's fastidious, he doesn't leave a stone unturned even at a young age as a young bloke he organised his life and his objectives in a diary, he's one of those guys where everything he does is methodical."
But Haffenden has stressed the importance of having Bennett involved with the coaching set-up.
Just how long the Kiwis will have the former Kangaroos coach on board is unclear. While Kearney has signed an initial two-year contract, Bennett's involvement has only been sealed up until the end of the May 9 centenary test against Australia and is under no obligation to continue through to the World Cup.
While the NZRL haven't been able to pin Bennett down for a longer term Haffenden said he does not see any reason the Broncos coaching legend will not continue his association after the World Cup.
