Frank Endacott says it is time for the Kiwis to appoint an Australian coach but he has urged the New Zealand Rugby League to develop a pathway for domestic coaches.

The former Warriors and Wigan mentor, who coached the Kiwis from 1995 to 2000, said while he would always support New Zealand coaches, the NZRL should now consider giving the job to a proven NRL coach.

"There's some pretty good Australian coaches out of a job at the moment.

GETTY IMAGES Kiwis coach David Kidwell got the job too soon, according to predecessor Frank Endacott.

"Des Hasler [the former Manly and Bulldogs] coach and Mick Maguire [who coached South Sydney to the 2014 NRL title] would be ideal.

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"Then you could have Kiwi coaches working under them, who'd learn a lot which would help them in the future."

Tim Hales Gary Kemble, Kiwis coach in 2007, was the last New Zealand-based coach to graduate to the national team job.

Endacott said he had got the Kiwis job in 1995 after coaching Canterbury "in a tough domestic competition for five years", taking the New Zealand Residents on a five-match Australian tour, the New Zealand Colts and the Junior Kiwis for two seasons, including a British tour.

"I was also assistant-coach at the Warriors when I was appointed [to the Kiwis].

Brian (Bluey) McClennan, who coached the Kiwis to a Tri-Nations tournament title in 2005, came through the same system.

GETTY IMAGES Des Hasler, the former Bulldogs boss, would be an ideal person to coach the Kiwis, says Frank Endacott.

He said New Zealand for many years had a "pecking order" of about 10 top domestic coaches, who accepted they would get an opportunity at the next level "when the guy above them retired or moved on".

But Endacott said the coaching development pathway reached a dead end a decade ago when Gary Kemble was sacked in 2007 after just one season in charge.

"Gary was unlucky. I thought he was ready for the job, but he got given the most inexperienced Kiwis team to take on a tour to England.

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"They didn't do well and when they got back Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell led the charge to get him sacked."

Kemble and his assistant-coach Phil Prescott, from Christchurch, lost their jobs, which Endacott said was an example of short-term thinking by the NZRL.

"Phil Prescott came through the system too and he was capable of coaching the Kiwis, given time.

"But that was the end of the local coaches coming through.

"You've got to give them time to prove themselves and put them in situations where they can get experience."

Endacott said the NZRL needed to identify potential coaches and say: "We'll put five years into you".

It would be ideal if they could align with the Warriors and get more New Zealand coaches involved in the NRL system.

Too often the Warriors had turned to overseas assistant-coaches, including England's Steve McNamara and Australia's Rowan Smith, although New Zealanders Stacey Jones and Ricky Henry were now involved.

Endacott felt Kidwell, the current Kiwis coach, had been given the job "a little bit too soon" without enough support.

"When David was appointed last year, I said 'give him the trip to England and try it out then make an assessment of how he went'."

The Kiwis struggled in the Four Nations tournament, suffering a draw with Scotland before losing the final to Australia, 34-8.

Endacott said despite the results the NZRL "gave him the job for two years".

"You've got to look at the people making these decisions."

Endacott said the Kiwis' World Cup exit was "a disaster" and the NZRL needed to make sure "rugby league people" are involved in the campaign review.

"It needs to be made by people who actually understand rugby league, with perhaps a couple of people from Sport New Zealand.

"I've heard it's going to be a Sport New Zealand panel, which could have no league people at all.

"That would be wrong. There's plenty of good people in the game who could do that."

Endacott felt there were too many staff involved in the Kiwis' campaign.

"The reason I say that is when I looked at the team photo, it had 18 staff in the picture. Eighteen? You've got to question that.

" I hate to say back in our day, but back then we had four staff [a coach, manager, physio and trainer] and a doctor.

"Six staff might be acceptable, if you add an assistant-coach. But 18 is ridiculous.

"We keep carrying on that we haven't got enough money in rugby league. But, if you've 18 staff, you have to pay them all. That money could be better served in being spent on junior development around the country."