5 May 2010

Kiwis reach out to youngsters with future in mind

12:50 pm on 5 May 2010

The New Zealand rugby league side are holding their third training run in Melbourne ahead of Friday's Anzac Test in Melbourne.

Following the run at the new AAMI Park venue, 30 young Melbourne-based players with New Zealand links will attend a session run by long-serving former internationals Ruben Wiki, Tony Kemp and Stephen Kearney, who are all in Melbourne helping to prepare the Kiwis.

Kiwis captain Benji Marshall, vice-captain Adam Blair and rookie internationals Kieran Foran and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will also attend the camp, which is designed to help young players of the future identify with their New Zealand heritage.

The second Junior Elite Kiwi Roots Camp follows a similar event held in Sydney in March when more than 30 Sydney-based New Zealand-eligible players heard from a collection of Kiwi legends.

The official launch of the 2010 Four Nations tournament is also today in Melbourne, with the Kiwis contingent joined by Australian coach Tim Sheens and captain Darren Lockyer, England internationals Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis plus Papua New Guinea coach Adrian Lam.