It's Time For The Kiwis To Drop Their Rugby League Underdog Complex

The New Zealanders need to get over their underdog complex – and stop relying so heavily on one playmaker – if they want to start consistently beating Australia, writes Jarret Filmer.

The Kiwis have been the best team in the world since 2015, according to a ranking system seemingly devised by the same people who oversaw the Melbourne Storm’s salary cap.

This ranking comes despite the fact that since the Kiwis ended Australia’s 27-year unbeaten record at major international tournaments by winning the 2005 Four Nations, the Kangaroos have enjoyed a 20-5 winning record over their trans-Tasman neighbors.

Fortuitously for the Kiwis have managed to parcel their victories so they could add the 2008 World Cup and the 2014 Four Nations to the trophy cabinet, masking a winning percentage of less than 33% against other major nations over the last decade. If those victories had been achieved in random games rather than title deciders, then the Kiwis’ last decade would have been a complete wasteland.

There is a persistent myth that the Kiwis are plucky underdogs, a gritty David to the Kangaroos overbearing Goliath. This myth was born in the days when the Kiwis routinely played second rowers at stand off and pulled rubbish collectors from reserve grade to become legends.

Twenty years ago, it was possible to count every Kiwi playing in the NRL on both hands. Now nearly a third of the NRL is eligible to play for the Kiwis and many of the game’s stars wear the black and white. The Kiwis team in Perth featured seven Premiership winners and averaged 145 first grade games per player, compared to the Kangaroos’ ten premiership winners and average of 174 first grade games per player.

So while the Kangaroos still edge the Kiwis in terms of experience and on-field success, the gap is now city blocks instead of light years. The Kiwis aren’t getting beaten before they walk on the field anymore – it’s time they stopped making excuses and started consistently challenging the Australians.

[rugbypass-ad-banner id=”1475535264″]

David Kidwell’s tenure as Kiwis coach was brought in with a lot of optimism, largely due to the special place he holds in the heart of many Kiwis fans for knocking Willie Mason senseless with one of the greatest shoulder charges of all time. Some of this excitement was diminished by another comfortable win by the Kangaroos in Perth and the fact that he managed to forget the best forward in the world was sitting on the bench for 23 minutes in the second half.

Kidwell is inexperienced for an international coach, but considering he served his apprenticeship under Craig Bellamy there is plenty of reason to hope he can turn things around. A good first step would be telling his team to ditch delusions of underdog status and meet the Kangaroos on their own terms, starting up front.

The current Kiwis pack has been touted as one of the greatest ever and based solely on reputations it’s a reasonable claim. On the field the returns have been mixed. In Perth they played too laterally and were dominated by a smaller but more active Kangaroo pack. Against England the Kiwis emphasized their power and offload ability and asserted themselves over a sizable opposition pack including the Burgess brothers. Martin Taupau and Jason Taumalolo were rampant but the likes of Adam Blair and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will need to step up their games if the Kiwis are to dominate the Kangaroos.

The major difference between the Kangaroos and the Kiwis is playmaking. The Kangaroos have a playmaking axis that has won 9 of the last 10 State of Origin series, while the Kiwis are guided around by the same players that led an NRL team to a 10th place finish in 2016. In the past three NRL seasons Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith averaged 2.6 try assists per game while Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai and Issac Luke averaged just 1.4.

The crux of the Kiwis problems is an over-reliance on Shaun Johnson’s magic. There are little other alternatives on offer. The victory over England showed that when Johnson has a solid platform he is capable of almost winning a game singlehandedly. He is an ethereal talent capable of audacious plays that sear themselves into the memory, but he is also guilty of failing to build pressure consistently on the last tackle and going missing for large chunks of games.

Johnson has proven at his mercurial best when paired with another ball dominant half like Kieran Foran or James Maloney, someone who is willing to perform the hard task of guiding the team around the park and leaving Johnson to insert himself when the opportunity strikes, to add his virtuoso touches without being saddled with the responsibility of being the main option. Thomas Leuluai is an honest toiler who has never let down the black jersey, but he is not in the same class as Thurston or Cronk.

Another problem area for the Kiwis is the fourth bench spot. Despite the increased depth of New Zealand players in the NRL, the one position that is still lacking in viable alternatives is the halves. For all his versatility, Lewis Brown does little to alleviate the dearth of playmaking ability for the Kiwis. Penrith rookie Te Maire Martin offers an X-factor that Brown doesn’t – a spritely and electric presence to take advantage of a tiring Kangaroos teams after the massive Kiwis pack have done their work.

The Kiwis won’t beat the Kangaroos with conservative selections; giving Martin a license to thrill off the bench could prove to be a masterstroke.