League: Coach skirts disastrous defence issue

The Kiwis struggled to hold Paul Gallen of the Kangaroos in Newcastle. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney wants his players to forget about the defensive calamity that took place in Newcastle on Sunday.

Quizzed repeatedly about his side's collective inability to stop the Australians waltzing down the field and placing the ball over the try-line, Kearney pointed to an inability to hold on to the ball as the main cause.

This is league wisdom 101. If you drop the ball and give it to the opposition, they are more likely to score tries than if you hold on to the ball and ram it down their throats.

Kearney's assessment, though, doesn't quite bear scrutiny. The price paid for poor ball control is usually exacted in the final 20 minutes. The Kiwis shipped three tries in the opening 13 minutes. Lung failure wasn't the issue. Dreadfully ineffective fringe defence was.

Kearney's stance seemed a deflection. He could hardly point the finger at individuals - such as Gerard Beale, the makeshift centre who missed nine tackles on debut - nor could he concede a catastrophic failure in the team's defensive system. Belief in that system will be crucial to turning things around in England in coming weeks.

In hindsight this was a massacre that was always coming. In terms of one to 17, the Kiwis' inexperience appeared a cause for concern. In terms of how the team lined up from left to right, the experience deficit was a calamity waiting to happen.

The left flank defensive unit of Alex Glenn, Lewis Brown and Kalifa Faifai Loa had just one cap between them. It took Darren Lockyer - he of the 17-season career and 56 test caps - just three minutes to sow the seeds of extreme doubt among that lot.

The right side failure is a touch more perplexing. Yes, Beale was on debut, but either side of him were Simon Mannering and Jason Nightingale, two dependable players. Yet by the final whistle the failure on the right was as complete as that on the left. The communication on both flanks appeared nonexistent, commitment to defending as a unit utterly absent.

The question is what can be done between now and the next time these teams meet in Warrington a week on Saturday. Move A must be to shift Mannering to centre in place of Beale and bring in another backrower. With Adam Blair suspended, the options are limited to Elijah Taylor and Kevin Proctor. That would mean blooding another uncapped rookie with Taylor's defensive prowess and mobility making him the logical candidate.

The left side is more problematic. Brown probably has to stay at centre; there are few alternatives. Faifai Loa, who produced a decent possum-in-the-headlights impression, could be replaced by Bill Tupou - yet another uncapped rookie.

Inexperience isn't an excuse available to prop Fuifui Moimoi - he was truly appalling on Sunday in terms of handling and defensive mobility. Ben Matulino will certainly come in to bolster the front row.

Changes will certainly be made. Whether they help much is another matter.

Prop Russell Packer has been given a one-match ban for his high shot on Australian skipper Darren Lockyer. The Kiwis have until 1pm today to decide whether to contest the charge.