League: The school of hard knocks

Kangaroos hooker Craig Gower feels the full impact of David Kidwell's tackling technique in 2004. File picture / Dean Purcell

Kiwi second-rower David Kidwell politely and firmly declined a chance to get into unfriendly fire with the giant Australian prop Willie Mason this week.

"That's all media talk," countered Kidwell, when asked for a reply to a Mason comment.

If Kidwell avoided stirring the pot then, you can rest assured he won't follow suit on the field, especially if the chips are down in tomorrow night's Tri-Nations opener at Mt Smart Stadium.

The 29-year-old Kidwell isn't what you'd call a classic enforcer, more a player who finds ways to lift his own team rather than knocking the other man down. And he's certainly become a player the Kiwis and beaten NRL finalists Melbourne have banked on for inspiration.

There were a couple of such moments in last year's Tri-Nations final in Leeds, including a darting Kidwell interception to snuff out a Kangaroos overlap during the Kiwis' stunning 24-0 victory.

For an example of league courage, the sort that teammates thrive on, you need look no further than the Storm's playoff win over Parramatta when Kidwell left the field concussed and with blood pouring from his mouth after copping an elbow.

Many thought the match was over for him, but he returned.

"I can just remember it although I don't really remember going back on. All I know is that I wanted to go back on," said Kidwell this week, as he prepared for his 20th test.

"You try to do some inspirational acts at certain times."

Kiwi coach Brian McClennan has installed Kidwell in the senior circle alongside present and former test captains Ruben Wiki, Stacey Jones, Nigel Vagana and Nathan Cayless.

"Kiddy is heart and soul, a good leader for us, with good training ethics and a leader by example," says McClennan.

"He's good off the field, a real personable sort. Where he goes, teams get better. He will come up with big plays. He does things to lift the mood.

"He's as brave as they come. He got absolutely whacked in that Parramatta game. Even in the Anzac test when we went down, he came hard on that short ball from Thomas Leuluai and gave us that first try - they are brave and hard lines to run. When it's physical, he enjoys that sort of game."

Like many backrowers, Kidwell started as a centre. Unlike many of the glamour boys of the game though, his path to the top has travelled plenty of byways and back roads.

Even his test career, which began in 1999, went into a three-year hibernation before it was resurrected in 2004.

Kidwell's club career started on a yes-no-yes-no deal as the former Junior Kiwi from the Hornby club in Christchurch got a break with the Adelaide Rams, who spluttered into life and then out of it.

He battled around with a Sydney premier club rather than returning to the home comforts of the Lion Red Cup, was briefly an Eel, and tried his luck in England but was sidelined after falling out with Warrington coach Steve Anderson. At this point, fortune intervened when the Sydney Roosters came calling. Having discussed their offer with his wife on a Sunday night, the Kidwells were airport-bound on Tuesday.

Even then, things didn't quite go to the best of plans.

He sat painfully close to the 2002 grand final victory over the Warriors as the Roosters' 18th man.

The salary cap helped end Kidwell's Roosters career and so it was off to the Storm, where he became a part of their leadership core, and then desperately sought a premiership title two weeks ago in the grand final against Brisbane.

Once again, it was not to be and Kidwell was left disappointed by his own performance and the result.

"If I ever get to play in a grand final again, I wouldn't change what I did in the build-up but I'd try and take more of a lead in the game," he says.

"I made a few mistakes and didn't lead the team the way I should have."

If there is to be another grand final, it won't be with Melbourne.

Kidwell and family are on the move again, this time to Souths. Even in Kidwell's finest league hours, home turns out to be a mobile thing.

Once again, the salary cap was cited as the reason. Melbourne indicated to Kidwell that he wouldn't get a major deal once his contract expired at the end of 2007, and allowed him to look elsewhere.

In a way, the Storm's actions were a mark of respect, but it was one that Kidwell could have done without.

"I thought Melbourne would be my last stop but loyalty has gone out the window in this game," he says.

"Melbourne had to look to the future and I hold no grudges. I left on good terms. But I had no inkling it was coming up. They caught me off-guard. I had to swallow my pride there for a second."

Within days of Melbourne delivering the bad news in June, Souths had moved in and Kidwell was all signed up and ready to commit to another new cause come the end of the 2006 NRL season.

As Kidwell has shown throughout his career, what counts in top level football is refusing to let the knocks count you out.