St. George Illawarra Dragons' coach Wayne Bennett (centre) with Jamie Soward andf Trent Merrin celebrate thier teams win over Sydney Roosters during the NRL Grand Final at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Oct. 3, 2010. Dragons defeated the Roosters 32 to 8. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
The only person who knows for certain where Wayne Bennett will coach next year is the great man himself. And my guess is that he has not made up his mind.
If you believe what you read in the printed media since the Dragons won the Grand Final last season, Bennett has already agreed to terms in 2012 with South Sydney, Newcastle and wow his old club in Brisbane.
Not to mention, North Queensland and the mooted new second franchise in Brisbane.
One young bookie trying to create some free publicity has even made Bennett an odds-on favourite with the Broncos simply because Ivan Henjak was sacked.
The sacking of Henjak, who was always walking on egg-shells, makes no difference. If anything, it would make it more difficult for Bennett to return home especially if new coach Anthony Griffin has a good season.
Bennett is an admirer of Griffin, who has been invited into his inner sanctum, and it would be doubtful if he would “grass-cut” a promising career.
Let me justify why I believe Bennett will wear the red and green of South Sydney next year.
He is 61 and is already the greatest coach in the game, with seven Premierships (6 at Brisbane & 1 at St George Illawarra), but no coach has ever won a Grand Final with three different teams as head coach.
Bennett knows that he can achieve this amazing feat with the talented Rabbitoh list. He will not go to a club in tatters, like the Cowboys.
Big spending Nathan Tinkler is used to buying whatever he wants and does not take no for an answer. It can be race horses, trainers and even clubs, but his dictatorship manner will not sit well with Bennett.
Tinkler has indicated that he would like Bennett to coach the Newcastle Knights and price would not be an issue.
Bennett actually has a relationship with one of Tinklers’ head honchos but at the end of the day there could only ever be one boss, and a skinny policeman would not mix with a fat coal miner.
Tinkler would want to dictate to Bennett how to coach, as he does with his trainers, which would make any link to the coalfields not possible. Besides, big Nathan likes a bet and Bennett detests punting.
He once refused to shake hands with well-known punter Steve Fletcher, when introduced by one of his players.
Rabbitoh owner Russell Crowe, as an Academy Award winner, knows how to spray it on, and would share Bennett’s sense of history of the game.
Rusty can provide the players to create the historic treble and Benny can mould them to make it happen.
It is not known if he is a fan of the Gladiator or even Robin Hood but one thing is certain, Russell Crowe thinks Bennett has a “Beautiful Mind” and if he offers him a starring role to have a “Good Year” he will be the “Master and Commander.”
Geez, all they need is a half-back who can talk, kick and organise now, although Bennett has been quoted as saying that he thinks the Rabbitoh number seven, Chris Sandow could one day be the replacement half-back for Jonathan Thurston.
Even the greatest of them all can get it wrong sometimes.
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