"If you get some good people that complement his weaknesses and make his strengths better, then I think that he's the right person for the job."
The wide-ranging review — led by new Australian Rugby boss and former Canterbury Bulldogs chief executive Raelene Castle and international sports lawyer and elite player manager Tim Castle (no relation) — will look to uncover the reasons behind the Kiwis on-field failings. It will also address the NZRL's policy that the Kiwis coach must be a New Zealander and examine the work of the governing body's high performance staff and upper management — including CEO Alex Hayton.
The decision to appoint Kidwell as former Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney's successor in September 2016 was questioned by many with concerns over his lack of head coaching experience.
Similar doubts hang over Hayton's leadership and suitability for the top job given his background as an accountant and the NZRL's consistent decline in recent years.
Blair refused to point the finger at any individuals for the side's early tournament exit, but feels the organisation could be run more effectively at all levels to help ease the pressures on Kidwell.
"If you have the right people in the right jobs doing the right things and a great leader from the top down, things seem to fall in place," he said.
"A prime example is coming from the Broncos, the organisation is run really well, they always strive to be better, they have people in the right positions doing the right things and they rely on people to get their jobs done, no ifs or buts.
"David, he had a year to implement what he wanted. He did as much as he could."
Blair accepts he and fellow senior players need to shoulder responsibility for the Kiwis stunning collapse, after they squandered a 16-2 halftime lead to lose 28-22 to Tonga in their final pool game, before turning in a rudderless and error-strewn performance a week later in their tryless 4-2 defeat to Fiji in their quarter-final.
In the immediate aftermath, Blair and Kidwell came in for further criticism for trumpeting the team's improved culture as a positive going forward.
He concedes now that more could have been done to set expectations and lead the way for the side's younger players throughout their campaign and as they battled to regain momentum during both matches.
"Maybe the leadership group including myself, weren't strong enough and didn't show that enough throughout the tournament.
"And maybe we didn't grab the young group and bring them in close enough so that they understood who we are and what we want from each other.
"David put a lot of faith in the leadership group to try to control the team and run things the way we wanted to, with obviously input from him. So maybe we weren't strong enough."
Despite missing the final four, Blair remains convinced the Kiwis had the talent to compete with eventual title winners Australia.
But after comfortably accounting for Samoa and sweeping past Scotland in their first two games, the Kiwis lost confidence after they dropped their standards to allow Tonga to climb back into the contest on their way to claiming a historic upset.
"That 15 to 20 minute period after halftime against Tonga, if we controlled the game and played the way we wanted to like we did in the first half, everyone would have been talking about Australia and New Zealand in the final," said Blair.
"We came up against a [Fiji] side that was desperate to do something special and had nothing to lose but everything to gain.
"We were the same, but we didn't perform. Maybe they wanted it more than us and it showed during the tough times on the field, they were hungrier in those moments.
" I watched them play [the Kangaroos] the following week and if we were to control our sets and hold the ball it could have been a different story.
"So if I reflect on anything, it's those pivotal moments in the Tongan game and our poor execution and handling errors that let us down against Fiji."
