Rugby League: Hooking spot a problem for Kiwis

By PETER JESSUP

Injuries and poor form are not yet disturbing Kiwis coach Daniel Anderson.

The latest to be added to the list of those unlikely to be fit for the contest with the Kangaroos in Newcastle on April 23 is former Warrior Motu Tony, who limped from the field in the Broncos' loss to Parramatta at the weekend with a medial ligament tear. Prop Jason Cayless is off with a similar injury and Warrior Jerry Seuseu gets his first start this week after a quadriceps tear.

Monty Betham's absence with a broken arm leaves a major hole at hooker and dummy-half.

In the backs, Nigel Vagana is still recovering from shoulder surgery and Matt Utai gets his first start this week after suspension.

The Warriors internationals are yet to get anywhere near test standard, as evidenced by Clinton Toopi's demotion to the bench and others such as Steve Kearney and Nathan Cayless returning solid but unspectacular games.

Anderson said he was not putting any serious focus on team selection because there were still four NRL rounds to come and injury and form reversals would likely continue.

Fellow selectors Tony Kemp, Brent Todd and Brian McClennan had guided his thinking in terms of the balance of the team who beat Australia in October and they have a wide squad in contention. He did admit concern over the hooker position. It's unlikely Richard Swain will be brought back from Hull because Anderson does not favour using England players, given that they arrive only two days before a game, disrupting the preparation.

He would not put Ruben Wiki there - "that would be taking a strength away from another area".

There's no clue as to why the ARL chose Newcastle as the venue. It has a capacity of only 25,000. A bigger-than-usual crowd might have been expected in Sydney or Brisbane.

Brisbane was ruled out, apparently, because of fears that a major AFL game on Saturday and the Broncos playing Penrith on Sunday would detract from crowd numbers.

The shift to Newcastle does ensure a more parochial Australian crowd and a smaller percentage of expat Kiwis than would have attended in either Sydney or Brisbane.