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TURNER: Bennett’s Broncos homecoming is a play for power

21st July, 2014
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Wayne Bennett was unable to turn England's fortunes around.
Expert
21st July, 2014
19
1624 Reads

The Broncos have made a sizeable gamble by re-hiring Wayne Bennett as their main man, but it had to happen for the club to reposition itself as one of the NRL superpowers.

Despite moderate success in his three seasons at Newcastle, Bennett was clearly the best coach on the market and the Broncos would have been foolish to stick with Anthony Griffin, who is a solid performer but seems to lack the Midas touch.

Did nice guy Griffin have a premiership title in him? The answer is maybe. Can Bennett win a seventh title at Brisbane? The answer is ‘more than likely.’

Now that Brisbane has snared their man, there cannot be excuses for the club to finish anywhere but near the top of the table next year and beyond.

The Broncos roster, dotted with established stars and emerging talents such as Ben Hunt, Dale Copley and Matt Gillett, is among the most impressive in the competition and it will be even more formidable with the addition of the precocious Anthony Milford and, more than likely, Darius Boyd.

Bennett’s signing doesn’t guarantee success but with the players at his disposal, he should have the Broncos challenging the likes of the Sea Eagles, Bulldogs, Roosters and Storm for the major prize.

I see exciting times ahead for the Brisbane faithful but there could be problems fitting so many stars into the main 17.

If Darius Boyd returns – and many are saying that is a certainty – where will that leave Ben Barba?

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Boyd will play fullback, Hunt and Milford will be the halves which suggests Barba will be a benchman at best. In my opinion, Barba can’t play anywhere but fullback and it’s hard seeing Boyd getting replaced every week in order to give him a run.

And where does Bennett’s return leave Josh Hoffman, a more than handy fullback who can also play five-eighth?

It’s clear to me that not every player will be happy that the Bronco legend is returning to the club he steered for two decades.

But the club’s administrators feel he is the man to lift Brisbane to their former glory and when you look at the big picture, it’s pretty hard to say that it will fail.

With a modest player list, Bennett took the Knights to within one game of the grand final last season which was an achievement for which few have given him credit.

This year has been bitterly disappointing for the Knights with constant drama over Nathan Tinkler’s finances, some major off field issues with players and the tragic injury suffered by Alex McKinnon.

Bennett stepped down on his own accord. After three years he said he could do no more and that his methods and systems were not working.

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There are critics who say Bennett is too old for the modern game and that his return to the Broncos will end in failure.

It’s his last NRL contract and I think it’s a pretty good bet that he’ll win at least one title over the next three seasons.

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