Wayne Bennett backs Adam Blair to take over as Kiwis captain for Rugby League World Cup

England and Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has endorsed Kiwis veteran Adam Blair to take over the New Zealand captaincy for the Rugby League World Cup.

Blair previously co-captained the Kiwis along with Issac Luke during the Kiwis tour of Great Britain, and with the Kiwis on the hunt for a new leader, Bennett believes the 30-year-old is the right man for the job.

The Whangarei-born product has donned the Kiwis jersey 41 times, and was the second-most capped player behind Simon Mannering during this month's Anzac Test in Canberra.

"Adam Blair would be very good," claims Bennett.

"He's a very stable bloke, extremely responsible and always plays well himself, which is a pretty important part when you're captain.

"He has a great rapport with the players and he's meant a lot to the Broncos, I can tell you. He's captain here tomorrow.

"David's got a lot of choices there which is good but Adam Blair is a pretty outstanding bloke."

"But David [Kidwell] has a lot of choices and some options but Adam Blair is outstanding."

Wayne Bennett (Photosport)
Wayne Bennett (Photosport)

The Kiwis are on the hunt for a new captain with Jesse Bromwich stood down from the World Cup squad after he allegedly used cocaine following the Kiwis 30-12 loss to the Kangaroos in Canberra.

Kidwell meanwhile told the media he will announce the new captain tomorrow.

"There are some quality guys in there [the squad]," said Kidwell.

"Simon Mannering has led the team before.

"You have Roger [Tuivasa-Sheck] who is doing it for the Warriors. You have Adam Blair, Issac Luke and Shaun Johnson.

"We have good options there and I'll name tomorrow."

While the Kiwis still ponder their next captain, the hunt for a new assistant coach goes on after potential candidate Paul Green has made himself unavailable for the World Cup.

Green has had success at the North Queensland Cowboys, leading the side to its maiden Premiership in 2015 after replacing Neil Henry in 2014.

Despite Green ruling himself out, Kidwell still has a few more names up his sleeve.

"As far as I know he has made himself unavailable," said Kidwell.

"He was one of the candidates I reached out to and there's a couple more that I'm in the process of going through."

Newshub.