IT was the 5am $20 purchase that will cost Kevin Proctor and Jesse Bromwich $120,000 each, and the latter the honour of captaining his country at a World Cup.

The Kiwi duo have been ruled out of the rugby league World Cup starting in October after allegedly snorting lines of cocaine off a dealer’s phone outside the Cube nightclub in Canberra following the ANZAC Test in the early hours of Saturday morning.

By Monday afternoon New Zealand coach David Kidwell had informed both men they would no longer be part of his squad for the World Cup, a huge blow for the Kiwis’ chances but a defining statement on the culture expected within the team.

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SCANDAL 3: Sorry Bromwich pays price for drug scandal

SCANDAL 4: Proctor stands down over drug claim

“It’s something that had been churned out in my guts, I was really gutted,” Kidwell said.

“But I had to look at the integrity of the jersey, the values that we’re trying to build here. And they broke that trust, and they put the integrity of that jersey on the line.

“They were the first two people I rang as soon as I come to this decision and obviously they were remorseful, but they understood the decision and they accepted to it.”

At 5.10am last Saturday, CCTV cameras in Canberra’s city centre allegedly captured local man Adrian Mark Crowther, 45, lining up cocaine on his phone before Bromwich and Proctor snorted it through bank notes.

Jesse Bromwich in action for New Zealand in the Test against Australia. Source: Getty Images

The representative players had left by the time police arrived to arrest Crowther, who was bailed to reappear in court later this month on supply and possession charges.

Police charges are not expected to be laid against Bromwich or Proctor, who said they were too drunk to recall the incident.

Bromwich had already been given a two-game by club Melbourne Storm and stood down from their leadership group while Gold Coast captain Proctor has stepped down from playing duties pending his sanction.

Kevin Proctor has stood down as Titans co-captain. File photo Source: News Corp Australia

Yet Kidwell took a strong and swift approach, knowingly weakening his forward pack and New Zealand’s chances at the World Cup in favour of setting behavioural standards.

Kiwi players can earn up to $120,000 by playing all six games of the World Cup, earnings that are now beyond Bromwich and Proctor, who will both still receive off-field support from the NZRL.

“They’re out of this campaign, it’s clear,” Kidwell said.

“But I’ll be working closely and monitoring closely with their clubs to see if they are doing that their clubs require of them, that the NRL require of them, and the Kiwis require of them.

“These are grown men, they were professionals.”

The Kiwis, who lost 30-12 to Australia in the Canberra Test, had an alcohol-free team dinner after the match before players moved on to other venues.

“I trust these guys, I’m not going to begrudge them from having a beer with their friends and family,” Kidwell said.

“We set an early recovery session on there and they know, they were professionals.

“We have to review (supervision) , and we’re going through that process at the moment.”