League: Australians playing with rules

The Australians have been playing fast and loose with the rules of league again and, as usual, trying to manipulate the criteria for winning the Bill Kelly trophy for contests between the two countries.

The New Zealand Rugby League donated the trophy in 1998 and, as Kelly was a West Coaster who played for Australia and New Zealand and who enlisted for the Australian Division in World War I, it was initially to be specifically for the annual Anzac test.

Then the Aussies decided there wasn't going to be an Anzac test. The response of the NZRL which was led at the time by Gerald Ryan, Kelly's nephew, was to put the trophy up for each game between the Kiwis and Kangaroos.

In the build-up to the Saturday test in Sydney, the Australian Rugby League made an approach to the NZRL to have the trophy awarded after the series' first game. The background seemed to be that they were confident of winning and didn't want to have to cart it to England.

Alerted, Ryan objected and so did the NZRL and the trophy, held by the Kiwis after their 38-28 win, will fly to England next week regardless of Friday night's result to possibly go on the line again.

If the Kiwis can win again at Ericsson Stadium on Friday night, a place in the Tri-Nations final at Elland Road, Leeds, at the end of November seems assured.

It seems they may struggle for a competent, neutral referee though. Great Britain's Steve Ganson who controlled Saturday's game is in charge at Ericsson.

Perhaps for that reason Kiwis coach Brian McClennan refused comment on Ganson's calls in test one. McClennan claimed he could be fined, thus showing some displeasure, but wouldn't elaborate.

Ganson refused new Kiwis wing Jake Webster what looked a good try without reference to the video referee.

He was well behind the play and for a ref at this level he appears to have a very low chest. Australia losing is the best thing that can happen to the game generally.

Only when the Aussies think their team won't win will they fill up the 82,500-seat Stadium Australia as they do for their grand final.

And the day the Kiwis start achieving something approaching a 50-50 record, the moguls from Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd will be ringing the NRL to say, "This is the date of the Australia-New Zealand test". Never mind club demands.

It's chicken-and-egg stuff. But at that stage, the broadcasters and the NRL will want the likes of Benji Marshall and Sonny Bill Williams - the game's top players - all out there competing. Now wouldn't that be good for the Kiwis.

And if you think I'm rough on the Aussies and their ability to make up rules as they go along, try playing pool in a Sydney pub.