Mel Meninga appointed Australia head coach

Australia have appointed Kangaroos great Mal Meninga as their new head coach.

The former Queensland State of Origin coach takes over on a four-year deal from Tim Sheens, who resigned in October to become full-time director of rugby with Salford in Super League.

"Mal's work with us starts today - so it is a very important day for the Kangaroos," National Rugby League head of football Todd Greenberg said.

"Our aim is to win the Rugby League World Cup in 2017 and the job officially begins now."

Maninga has been the Maroons boss since 2006 and he boasts nine Origin series victories over New South Wales in 10 attempts.

He admits he had wanted the Kangaroos job for years.

"For me, it's always been something I've wanted to do. It is truly an honour to be in this position, as the new coach of the Kangaroos," said Meninga, who is a former Australia captain.

"I want to bring the Australian team back up to the No 1 spot and there's a lot of things we need to do," he added.

"We need to inspire players to put on the Kangaroos jersey. We need to build a programme where they want to play in it as well."

Australia won six straight World Cups between 1975 and 2000 with Meninga at the heart of the team.

His appointment was made with the support of current Queensland and Australia captain Cameron Smith.

"I couldn't think of a coach more suited to this role, given Mal's achievements as a former Kangaroos captain and his understanding of what representing Australia means," Smith said.

"He has a proven record at representative level, as well as a tremendous ability to help his players perform at the highest level."

Sheens had been in charge of Australia since 2008 when he succeeded Ricky Stuart after their shock World Cup final defeat to New Zealand, and guided them to 26 wins in his 31 matches - including victory in the 2013 World Cup.

The 2017 World Cup will be co-hosted by Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.