Kiwis coach David Kidwell has laid the hammer down on Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor, announcing the neither will be considered for selection at the upcoming Rugby League World Cup.
The duo were part of the Kiwis side that were hammered by the Kangaroos, 30-12 in Canberra on Friday night.
The teammates were named in court the following morning as having been allegedly sold cocaine by local resident, Adrian Mark Crowther outside a local city centre nightclub.
Bromwich, who captained the side in the 18-point loss stood down from the role on Sunday as a result of allegations.
Neither have been charged with an offence.
Kidwell said he was left with no other choice than to suspend the two-players.
"We have values to uphold, they have broken my trust, their team mates trust and the trust of the New Zealand public," Kidwell said.
"I can’t express my disappointment enough in their actions in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"In our Te Iwi Kiwi house, no one is bigger than the team.
"Now we move forward and focus on the Rugby League World Cup."
Kidwell informed both player's of his decision earlier on Monday and said while both were dissapointed - they understood they would face seious consequences for their actions.
"They were [both] remorseful , but they accepted it."
NZRL Chief Executive, Alex Hayton said of the Kidwell's stance, "NZRL 100% backs the decision not to consider these two men.
"We must uphold the values of the game.
"NZRL and the Kiwis will continue to work hard to ensure the people of New Zealand are proud to support our teams both on and off the field."
While Kidwell was adamant that this incident doesn't reflect the integrity he said both men have, the Kiwi jersey is more important than an individual player.
"They are both good men, who clearly have made bad a bad decision, it was out of character, but there is a bigger picture here.
"We are going into a world cup campaign and I want to make sure that everyone understands that we have values to uphold and that's why we have come to this decision," said Kidwell.
The 40-year-old Kiwis coach said he hopes the standing down of two key-players sends a clear message to the team, fans and public that he won't tolerate bringing the team into disrepute.
"The integrity of the game, the jersey, being a Kiwi – we expect each player to hold up those values."
Kidwell said that a decision on who will replace Bromwich as captain will be made at a later date.
Newshub.
