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St George Illawarra star Mark Gasnier says speculation over coach Wayne Bennett’s future won’t distract the Dragons from their pursuit of back-to-back NRL premierships.
The Dragons signalled their intent for the 2011 season by capping their impressive pre-season form with a 21-15 World Club Challenge victory over Wigan at DW Stadium on Sunday night.
The rumour mill has been in overdrive since Ivan Henjak’s sacking as Brisbane Broncos coach that seven-time premiership winning mentor Bennett will be heading back north at the end of the season.
The long-time Broncos coach, who is off contract at the end of the year, is the last man to guide an NRL team to successive premierships.
“People don’t want Wayne to leave but it is Wayne’s decision and everyone respects the decision because we all know Wayne would do the right thing by the club for everyone involved,” Gasnier told AAP.
“We all like and respect Wayne as a person.
“Players are in the same situation when they negotiate their futures, we know how it is and it is not changing our focus one little bit.”
Bennett was not in Wigan for the clash, watching the game from back in Brisbane after being forced to fly back to Australia last week for family reasons.
The master coach’s family still live in Brisbane and he commutes back and forth during the NRL season.
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