Rugby League: Kiwis spirit buoys coach

By Peter Jessup

The Kiwis ran through a tough defensive workout at Friday night's rugby league tri-series venue, Ericsson Stadium, yesterday, with coach Frank Endacott wanting to work out how fit his side are.

Afterwards he declared himself happy with the effort and application and over the moon with the spirit in the side leading up to the test against Australia.

"I had to check that they'd done plenty of work and they have," he said. "I couldn't be happier with their attitude."

Trainer Bob Lanigan, who has been working with the Sydney-based players as they finished NRL duties, said there was no question that the squad were sharp.

The layoff of up to six weeks for the Warriors, Balmain's Jason Lowrie, Brian Jellick from North Queensland and the Canberra pair of Ruben Wiki and Lesley Vainikolo, would freshen them, if anything.

"After a year's football it's more of a mental thing - we need to keep them focused." he said.

The togetherness in the squad after 1998's season-ending series win in Britain and the close-run Anzac test was showing through.

"These boys are fizzing," Lanigan said.

Last year's captain, Matthew Ridge, showed up to offer his support.

Asked for a prediction, he said: "I'd say they'd win by 20 points if they had a specialist goalkicker."

But the edge in the forwards will still carry the Kiwis home, he feels.

"We should smash them in the forwards then bring on the quick guys," he said.

Endacott admitted that it was tempting to start with four forwards on the bench, given the ability of Henry Paul and Ruben Wiki to move from the pack to the backs, the sheer size he has available and the competition for second-row spots.

It was good to have some choice and not to be forced to play people out of position.

He said: "I've got 20 guys all as good as each other and the three that have to miss out on Friday I'd be happy to start with."

He would be putting much thought into the pack alignment, the centre combination and the backs-forwards split on the bench before naming his side tomorrow after the Kiwis have an opposed run against the Junior Kiwis.

Hoping to be on the back of that huge forward roll is wing/centre Nigel Vagana, a superb finisher for Warrington and the Warriors since his return from England.

He played in the 1998 Anzac test and was a tourist to England last year, kept out of the three tests by Daryl Halligan and Sean Hoppe.

"We should have it on them in the forwards and that should give us room to move outside," Vagana said.

Everyone had plenty to play for, the speedster said, with the coach having told them at the first team meeting that barring injury, he expected them all to be around at the World Cup next year.

"We've got a lot of young players," the 24-year-old Vagana said. "Hopefully we'll be the start of something good. We have high expectations of ourselves. We'll be ready for Friday night."

There was no question that the squad were good enough to beat Australia twice, as they must to win the tri-series, Endacott said.

"We beat them in '97 and '98 - there's no reason we can't beat them in '99."

He hoped the crowd would get loudly behind the team and was pleased with a long-range forecast of fine weather.

Australia will field the new centre partnership of Cronulla's Russell Richardson and Newcastle's test debutante of Matthew Gidley for the Ericsson encounter.

Richardson and Melbourne halfback Brett Kimmorley represented the Australian Super League team in 1997 but will be making their test debuts for their country in a united national side.

* The Great Britain team were in transit from Manchester to Brisbane yesterday, with St Helens standoff Sean Long cleared to join them despite aggravating a shoulder injury in the Euro Super League grand final as his late kick took Saints to an 8-6 win.

Coach Andy Goodway said Long would not play in the warm-up against Burleigh Bears this weekend but would be fit for the game against Australia the following week.

Australia: Robbie Ross (Melbourne), Mat Rogers (Cronulla), Matthew Gidley (Newcastle), Russell Richardson (Cronulla), Wendell Sailor, Brad Fittler (Sydney City, captain), Brett Kimmorley (Melbourne), Jason Smith (Parramatta), Nik Kosef (Manly), Bryan Fletcher (Sydney City), Rodney Howe (Melbourne), Craig Gower (Penrith), Darren Britt (Canterbury). Interchange: Darren Lockyer (Brisbane), Darren Smith (Canterbury), Jason Stevens (Cronulla), Michael Vella (Parramatta).