Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney has included Leuluai and Leeds' Brent Webb in his 19-man squad for the Test against Australia, despite both Super League clubs saying they did not want to release the pair.

The Kiwis play in the Centenary Test on May 9 against Australia.

Chairman Ian Lenagan is sympathetic to Kearney's plight in assembling a team for the match when so many of New Zealand's best players are in the Super League.

But he says the hectic travel schedule would be too much for Leuluai to fully recover from ahead of their crunch Super League showdown against Warrington on May 16.

Wigan chief executive Joe Lydon and Leeds counterpart Gary Hetherington are meeting with the RFL today.

Lenagan says he is happy to let the game's governing body settle the disagreement.

Lenagan said: "The issue isn't Thomas missing the Challenge Cup game (against Whitehaven on May 12), it's the travelling.

"We play on the Sunday (against St Helens), which would mean Thomas arriving Down Under on Wednesday, playing a Test on the Friday and getting back here on the Tuesday before we play an important Super League game against Warrington.

"It's very purist to think that we would love him to go and play for his country, but with the travel required it's not in the player's interest to do so, and we've made that point to New Zealand."

Lenagan is all too aware of the dangers of releasing players for New Zealand's mid-season Tests against Australia.

When he was chairman of Harlequins, Leuluai was allowed to fly home to stake a claim for the vacant No.7 jersey but injured his hamstring in and missed a considerable chunk of the season for the London club.

Lenagan put that injury down to the stress of two long-haul flights.

But new Kiwi coach Kearney, who has lost half-back Benji Marshall, said: "These two guys (Leuluai and Webb) have told me they want to play for their country. I owe it to them to try to get them back. It's out of my hands now."