Kiwis utility Nathan Fien is no stranger to eligibility stoushes and he has called on the NZRL to find a way to compete financially with the lure of State of Origin, or risk losing more players to Australia like New Zealand-born prop James Tamou.
Fien was at the centre ofGrannygate in 2006 when it was discovered after he had already played for the Kiwis he didn't qualify for New Zealand through his grandmother and had to wait until 2008 when he qualified on residency grounds.
International eligibility is a sticky topic in league and this week Tamou became the focus of attention following his decision to plump for New South Wales and Australia, despite being part of the Kiwis train-on squad for last year's Four Nations. A little cajoling by NSW coach Ricky Stuart seems to have done the trick, as well as the prospect of earning an additional $50,000 a year.
"[Kiwis captain] Benji [Marshall] made a really good point about the carrot of playing Origin, where you can earn up to $50,000 in an Origin series as opposed to a test match can sway young Kiwi guys," Fien said. "It's something the NZRL are going to have to address and address really fast or we might see a bit of a drain on players, which is going to affect the international game.
"We have always been the little brother. We won the World Cup and have won the Four Nations but we don't want to see our young players drawn away to the bright lights of Origin."
Players from both the New Zealand and Australian sides will earn $9000 for playing in this week's Anzac test and, beyond that, NZRL chief executive Jim Doyle said there was little they could do financially. They were planning to introduce their own Origin concept next year - Auckland against the rest of New Zealand - but it wouldn't come close to matching Australia's series.
"State of Origin has been around for 30 years and attracts 70,000 to each game as well as huge broadcasting dollars," Doyle said. "Some of that money goes to the players. We are not in that position. We just don't have a State of Origin. We are looking at introducing our own State of Origin next year but it will take a number of years to get to that sort of income.
"If you don't have the money, you can't give it back. It really comes down to players wanting to play for New Zealand because you are Kiwis."
Fien doesn't regret his decision to play for New Zealand - it's doubtful he would have made his way into an Australian lineup - and returns to a New Zealand side looking to win their first Anzac test since 1998.
It's that anomaly Fien said they should concern themselves with rather than Tamou's decision to play for Australia.
"We have bigger issues to look at than James Tamou," he said. "We can't hide from the fact we haven't performed particularly well in this game over the last 14 years but we are hopeful that changes on Friday night."
It should help that they are playing at home, but the Kiwis haven't beaten Australia in New Zealand since 2003 when they won 30-16 at North Harbour Stadium.
Admittedly there haven't been many games between the two sides in this country, given the fact the NZRL religiously gave up hosting right to the Anzac test for many years because they could earn more from a game played across the ditch.
The Kiwis have assembled a powerful side, with our without James Tamou.
