Another candidate has ruled himself out of the race to become the new NZ Warriors head coach with former Newcastle Knights boss Nathan Brown insisting he doesn't want the job.
Experienced coach Brown was widely-considered the frontrunner to replace Stephen Kearney having worked with the Warriors earlier this year as a consultant before the coronavirus pandemic.
But in a statement to the Sunday Telegraph, Brown confirmed he is the latest name to rule himself out of contention.
"The Warriors coaching role is a wonderful opportunity. But for me personally, that role doesn't fit at this stage,'' says Brown.
He joins Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy, South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett, Sydney Roosters assistant coach Craig Fitzgibbon and Storm assistant coach Jason Ryles to rule themselves out of the job.
Earlier this week, the Daily Telegraph listed Brown as one of five candidates who were shortlisted for the job by a selection panel that included club owner Mark Robinson, chairman Rob Groot, chief executive Cameron George and club legend Simon Mannering.
That list reportedly included Bennett, Brown, and Jason Ryles, along with current interim Todd Payten and England coach Shaun Wane.
If true, that would mean it is a two-horse race between Payten and Wane for the job.
Payten had no NRL head coaching experience before replacing Kearney until the end of the season, but has won the support of the players with Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and hooker Wayde Egan among those to voice their support.
Wane also has no NRL coaching experience, but has a 68 percent win record in the English Super League over an eight year period with the Wigan Warriors, where he won three titles.
He was linked to the NZ Warriors job in 2014 after Matthew Elliott resigned from the job.
Last year, Wane said he'd like to test his skills in the NRL.
"I've always been a big admirer of the NRL and the Australian game," said Wane.
"I'd very much like to get an opportunity to test myself as a head coach in the NRL. I played with loads of Australian players and I've coached loads of Australian players so the interest has always been huge.
"There's no better challenge than testing yourself in the toughest arena and on a week-to-week basis, that's the NRL."
Expericened coaches Geoff Toovey and Anthony Griffin have expressed interest in the job, but were not on the shortlist published by the Daily Telegraph last week.
Any interview will be conducted over Skype or Zoom with the different candidates and members of the selection panel scattered in different countries.
