Former Kiwis captain Simon Mannering will not tackle the Kangaroos with his team in Perth due to his recent knee operation. Photo: FileThe Kiwis will be without former captain Simon Mannering for Saturday's transtasman test against Australia in Perth as he continues his recovery from minor knee surgery. Mannering had a clean-out operation on his knee last month and has remained in Auckland while the rest of the Kiwis 24-man squad gathers in the Western Australia capital ahead of the Nib Stadium clash against the Kangaroos. The absence of Mannering, the Kiwis' most experienced player with 41 test appearances, is a blow to new coach David Kidwell's plans of avenging the side's 16-0 loss to Australia in the Anzac test in Newcastle in May. Kidwell opted to retain Bromwich as skipper for this week's one-off test and the subsequent Four Nations campaign.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 10, 2016 01:41 UTC