Graham Lowe: NZRL must invoke Nuclear Option to win some respect

Pull the Kiwis out of international football. Sounds dramatic - but that's the Nuclear Option that NZRL chairman Sel Bennett must consider when he sits down with his counterparts at the next international board meeting in November.

Reintroducing transfer fees is another option.

The problem of New Zealand players not being released from their NRL and Super League clubs for tests is a major issue and needs to be sorted out urgently.

There are already indications that clubs in both hemispheres will bully the international board and continue to ignore the importance of test matches.

Brian McClennan's victorious 2005 Tri-Series Kiwis should have given the flat international league scene the jump-start it has needed for years.

But amazingly Australia, instead of lauding the Kiwis' efforts, has laid the blame on Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and pretty much pretended it didn't happen.

This now makes another Kiwi success in this year's series absolutely crucial for the game internationally.

Predictably, however, the old Aussie arrogance and disrespect for the game outside the NRL is again raising its head.

Geoff Carr, chief executive of the Australian Rugby League, has already told Sel Bennett that a few NRL clubs have recently indicated they would like to see the annual Anzac test scrapped because the Kiwis are not consistently competitive and it interferes with the NRL season.

It's this arrogance that needs to be challenged if the game at an international level has any chance of surviving. The crux of the problem goes back to NRL clubs and British Super League clubs not allowing the NZRL reasonable access to their players for international fixtures.

I can accept the age-old argument from the clubs that they are paying the wages of the players and can't afford the risk of any injuries picked up in a test match. Possibly their stronger argument is that players chosen for the Kiwis may miss one or even two club matches.

What I can't accept is that club football is more important than test matches. If it is we should all just give up now. All clubs are well aware when they sign a player that there is a possibility he could be called on to represent his country.

But the clubs want it both ways.

When the Kiwis play Australia, the Super League clubs are anything but helpful in releasing their players who may be selected. The farcical test against Great Britain in June was doomed before it started because the Kiwis couldn't field their strongest side.

Why? Because McClennan couldn't call on key players from the NRL clubs. The NRL clubs have to allow their players to take part in State of Origin if they are chosen - and wouldn't dare challenge that directive.

It is, therefore, totally unreasonable and plain wrong that test players are not given the same opportunities.

The players themselves could solve the situation by standing up to their clubs and telling them if chosen to play tests at any time of the year they will play.

But in most cases players may think they have too much to lose if they rock the club boat.

Although the players will benefit from a change in the current system it is up to the management of the game to negotiate a more suitable arrangement.

And don't discount the possibility of some players wanting to change codes because rugby players do have better international opportunities.

This year's Tri-Series will not pose a problem because it is played at the end of the NRL and Super League seasons.

But next year's Anzac test and then the test against Great Britain in July will once again see the NRL and Super Leagues' loathing of the international game raise its head.

New Zealand Rugby League is a factory churning out young players for the game in Australia - only receiving little in return.

It would be a tough call but I'm of the view that the NZRL has got to be prepared to pull out of international footy next year and for however long it takes to sort out this blight on the game.

Another option is to call for the transfer fee system that was in place 20 years ago.

If the clubs want exclusive use of a New Zealand player, they should pay a significant transfer fee for that right to the NZRL.

There is a smorgasbord of young league talent in this country which the NRL clubs feast on.

In many cases these young kids and their parents are carried away by the tracksuits, t-shirts and attention paid them by NRL clubs. You can't blame the kids or their parents but, sadly, their loyalty has been secured very cheaply.

The challenge in front of Bennett has been made even more difficult because, for years, the NZRL has allowed this ridiculous situation to continue.

The Australian Rugby League hasn't got the guts to stand up to the NRL - and neither has the English Rugby League when it comes to Super League.

New Zealand led the way for the game in 1907 and it must do the same again in 2006.

A tough, uncompromising new attitude needs to be delivered to the international board. For too long, weak-kneed New Zealand administrators have failed to stand up to their international counterparts, and have been treated like schoolboys.

There has been little or no respect for New Zealand administrators, who have often first read of decisions affecting the international game in the media.

There might be some short term pain, but New Zealand must be strong enough to stand up to the Aussies and the Poms around the international board table. If they continue to weight international football against us, then their pillaging of local talent should come only at a hefty price.

The time is long overdue for another New Zealand administrator in the mould of Ron McGregor - intelligent, strong and not afraid to stand up to the self-serving fishheads on the other side of the table.

But let us not forget, the Aussies are well aware that a change in the system could see their international dominance of the game gone.