League: Kiwis travel delays give NRL clubs more ammunition in fight to re-schedule Denver test

The Kiwis lengthy travel delays have given NRL clubs more ammunition in their fight to have the Denver test moved to the end of the season. Photo / Photosport.

The Kiwis have finally returned home from Denver but New Zealand Rugby League boss Greg Peters says the findings of a review will help determine whether the trip is repeated next year.

The Warriors' three Kiwi internationals – Issac Luke, Peta Hiku and Ken Maumalo - flew back into Auckland this morning, after bad weather and mechanical faults delayed their flights out of the US following Sunday's 36-18 defeat to England at Mile High Stadium.

The trio had a recovery session at Mt Smart Stadium earlier today and coach Stephen Kearney will decide after tomorrow's captain's run whether to play them in Friday's home NRL game against Cronulla.

Clubs were already opposed to the scheduling of the mid-season test and the drama around players being stranded in transit has given them more ammunition in their fight to have the fixture shifted to the end of the year.

The NZRL are looking to fulfil the remaining two years of their contract with Denver test organiser and promoter Jason Moore, but the results of a post-trip review will play a large part in determining whether the Kiwis are involved again next season.

Peters – who remained in New Zealand and did not attend the test in his first official week in his role as CEO – is due to meet with Kiwis coach Michael Maguire next week to get his feedback.

"That's (clubs complaining) going to be a factor there's no doubt about that," said Peters.

"We need to sit down with [Moore] and our high performance people and do a full review which is normal practice.

"Whilst England and we are encouraged by the actual event and what it means for us on the international calendar we need to just take a breath and have a look at those things.

"But we've got a three year deal and at this stage we'll be looking to proceed, but having taken note of the review.

"So that's not a definitive 'yes', but we're in the deal for three years, subject to reviews that we're going to carry out each year."

Peters sympathises with those clubs that have been further inconvenienced by the travel delays, but denied Moore Sports could have done any more to improve matters.

"It's not a perfect situation or a desirable situation for [clubs] and I fully understand their concerns but it was unavoidable," he said.

"It was just an act of god, in terms of the lightning strike in the initial instance in Denver, and then a few players had a United Airlines flight cancelled for mechanical reasons.

"It's really unfortunate but there was nothing the promoter or us could do that could have changed that."

Maguire arrived home in Sydney this morning and was satisfied Moore Sports had left no stone unturned in trying to book new flights or finding alternative arrangements for the players.

"We're finally back," said Maguire. "We had a few little airport dramas but unfortunately there wasn't much we could do about it.

"[The promoters] were there at the airport, they were on the phones, they were dealing with everything in the background.

"From what I saw they were very active around organising what had to happen next, you could see them there working for hours trying to make sure that the players were best looked after.

"They got the boys straight into a hotel when we realised we couldn't get on the plane. The players were doing recovery and everything required in and around their next (club) game. From what I saw it was professionally run."

To get the day's top sports stories in your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here