Kangaroos v All Blacks: Mal Meninga to bring on Wayne Bennett, Phil Gould
The Kangaroos tackling the All Blacks is set to make history on and off the field, with Mal Meninga assembling the greatest coaching team rugby league has ever seen.
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14 v 14: Rules for Kangaroos-All Blacks blockbuster revealed
- Revealed: secret talks behind cross-code blockbuster
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga wants to hire two of rugby league’s greatest minds — Wayne Bennett and Phil Gould — to help Australia topple the All Blacks in the proposed cross-code blockbuster.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Bennett and Gould, who boast nine premierships between them, will be asked to join Meninga in a Holy Trinity of Kangaroos coaches if the NRL agrees to play the All Blacks on December 5.
The prospect of Souths super coach Bennett and former NSW Origin mentor Gould donning green-and-gold would be compelling given their status as two of the most powerful figures in rugby league.
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Meninga and Bennett, who met in the 1980s at the Queensland Police Academy, had a dramatic fallout in 2016 when the pair waged a shootout for the Kangaroos post that ultimately went to the NRL Immortal.
But Meninga has since smoked the peace-pipe with Bennett and revealed the Souths coach and two-time premiership-winner Gould are on his radar to join Australia’s coaching team to take on the All Blacks.
“If this game comes off, I would like Wayne and Phil involved,” Meninga said.
“Wayne Bennett and Phil Gould are two of the greatest minds in our game and I would love to see them playing a role with the Australian team.
“Wayne and Phil have coached at the highest levels and they would command great respect from the current playing group.”
Under his coaching structure, Meninga would operate in an overseer’s role, with Bennett and Gould to have a hands-on role working with Kangaroos players.
Gould is revered as one of the sport’s greatest motivational speakers and Meninga believes the historical narrative of a cross-code contest could tap into Gould’s ability to strike an emotional chord with players.
“We are two separate sports, but this is how the game of rugby league eventuated,” Meninga said.
“Wayne and Phil have a deep understanding of our history and maybe as a coaching team, we can look at some rules for a hybrid game and how we bring the two codes together for this.
“The All Blacks have had enormous success but so have the Kangaroos. From the 1970s, we have been the most dominant nation in rugby league.”
For Meninga’s troops, there is a cash incentive.
Kangaroos players such as James Tedesco, Daly Cherry-Evans, Boyd Cordner and David Fifita stand to pocket up to $50,000 per man if they run out against the All Blacks.
Queensland and NSW players currently receive $30,000 apiece for each of the three State of Origin games annually, while Kangaroos stars are paid $20,000 for each Test appearance in the green-and-gold.
NRL clubs and the Rugby League Players Association would have to be consulted but no Kangaroos player would knock back a lucrative payday for an 80-minute epic against the All Blacks.
Concerns over player welfare in a COVID-affected 2020 season are illogical.
In 2017, Australia played six Test matches during that year’s World Cup, including the final against England on December 2.
Kangaroos stars Michael Morgan and Cameron Smith played a total of 32 and 29 matches respectively across the 2017 NRL calendar. No NRL player this year will feature in 30 matches, even if the All Blacks-Kangaroos clash takes place.
New Zealand Rugby officials are keen to continue negotiations and want the ARL Commission to come to the party to thrash out one of the most compelling contests in trans-Tasman sporting history.
Queensland Origin skipper and Kangaroos vice-captain Cherry-Evans has backed the concept, saying: “Anything like that, where there’s an opportunity to grow the game of rugby league and in particular at a time like now, I think it’s a great idea.
“I’d love to play something like that.”