Stephen Kearney can get the best out of players, says Lance Hohaia. Photo / Getty Images

Stephen Kearney can get the best out of players, says Lance Hohaia. Photo / Getty Images

LEEDS - Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy's fondness for four letter words is so great that rugby league officials have twice dispatched architects to deal with it.

When Bellamy was in control of the Country Origin representative team, special boxes were built on top of grandstands to keep the public as far away from Bellamy's 'effs and cees' as possible.

The story is repeated here as an insight into the qualities of Bellamy's assistant, and the Kiwis' World Cup-winning coach, Stephen Kearney.

"Stephen is a calming influence on Craig," Storm chief executive Brian Waldron told the Herald On Sunday.

"The way we do things now is: Stephen sits on the sideline. Craig delivers messages to Stephen in the style that only Craig can, you know?

"But Stephen translates it to the players. He puts his spin on it. His delivery is a little different. And I think if you look at our results this year, it seems to work."

As the Four Nations in Europe heads into its final week, the question of how Kearney turned around a Kiwis team dramatically under-performing into one on the verge of the most successful period in its 102 year-history is no easier to answer.

At least, not simply.

The Kiwis' changes of coach are, with the benefit of hindsight, easy to chart and rationalise. Gary Freeman was a former great with limited top level coaching experience. His replacement was a career coach, but a foreigner, in Daniel Anderson.

Freeman's removal had been justified by a new rule that the national coach must live in New Zealand. Anderson's replacement was locally-grown Brian McClennan, who exceeded expectations wildly by ending Australia's 28-year-reign in major tournaments and series.

McClennan was forced by the aforementioned regulation to stand down after signing with Leeds.

Gary Kemble was a former great and budding coach but his tenure was disastrous, with a clean-sweep loss to Britain and open hostility towards him from his players on tour.

Following the course already set, one would expect a big name with lots of mana - as a coach - to be appointed, to keep the players happy and eliminate the perceived flaws of the previous men. Phil Gould, for instance, comes to mind. Wayne Bennett is another one.

But Bennett didn't want to be head coach of New Zealand. Kearney was plucked from Bellamy's staff, with 'St Wayne' as his offsider. Having coached the Aussie team that McClennan toppled, Bennett managed to garner much of the credit for last year's World Cup success.