Cowboys coach Paul Green won't be part of the Kiwis set up at the World Cup.
Green, who is rated as one of the best young coaches in the NRL and took North Queensland to their first NRL title in 2015, was tipped to be a front runner for the final Kiwis assistant spot and had previously indicated that he was open to the idea.
The New Zealand Rugby League first approached Green in February and conversations had been ongoing.
But Kiwis coach David Kidwell said on Friday that Green has ruled himself out of contention.
"As far as I know he has made himself unavailable," said Kidwell. "He was one of the candidates I reached out to and there's a couple more that I'm in the process of going through."
