The Wayne’s of this world are grabbing the headlines. Nobody baits the media better than Wayne Bennett, he’s a past master at the “game”.
The 61-year-old doyen of rugby league coaches is the centre of intense speculation as to where he’ll end up next season, once his three-year contract with the Dragons expires in September.
The inevitable question was asked of Bennett yesterday, after his Dragons had put Canterbury in the dog-house 25-6, at the SCG.
“I can’t answer that for you, I don’t know (pause) – well I do know, I just don’t want to share it with you,” was so typical of the way Bennett toys with the “enemy”.
On the table a reported $2 million-a-season offer for three years from billionaire mining magnate Nathan Tinkler to coach the Newcastle Knights, with a couple of juicy side-benefits to sweeten the deal.
First up in the offer, Bennett’s son-in-law Ben Ikin, a former Kangaroo and television commentator, to take over managing Tinkler’s burgeoning real estate portfolio.
Also offered is the use of the big bloke’s private jet whenever Bennett wants to fly to Brisbane to see his wife Trish, and two daughters Elizabeth, and Katherine.
Still in the mix, Gladiator Oscar winner Russell Crowe’s $1.5 million a season for three years to coach South Sydney, with the keys to his $14 million mansion thrown in as extra bait.
Seriously big numbers for a seriously gifted coach.
The mail is Newcastle, but with Wayne Bennett you wouldn’t put your house on it, especially after his standard quote: “It’s not the money”.
Money has never been an issue with Manchester United’s soccer super-star super-brat Wayne Rooney.
He can afford it at $250,000 a week, a millionaire every month.
But he believes he has the divine right to brattish behaviour on and off the field. Wrong.
Rooney’s latest stupidity: suspended for two matches by the FA for an expletive burst to a television camera after he’d scored a hat-trick against West Ham.
Rooney pleaded guilty to the charge of bringing the game into disrepute, not that he had any option, the irrefutable evidence was there for billions of television viewers around the world to see.
But Rooney appealed against the two-match holiday, saying it was too severe. Get a grip, he’s lucky it wasn’t far longer, like two months with his track record.
Talking money, and Wayne Swan, the Federal Treasurer and a devoted Broncos fan, has warned all Australians his Budget next month will be tough, so tighten the purse strings.
But that won’t concern Wayne Bennett, who knocked back a $900,000 a season offer from the Broncos.
Englishman Wayne Barnes looms as the first-choice referee to control the Rugby World Cup final in October, providing England doesn’t qualify for the decider.
The 32-year-old Barnes is one of 10 whistlers nominated by the IRB for the tournament that includes the worst referee in the world in my opinion: South African Jonathan Kaplan.
Yet it is also missing one of the best – Australian Stuart Dickinson – who didn’t even make the seven stand-by refs, four of whom are totally unknown.
I’m leaving popular Australian golfer-commentator Wayne Grady with the last say.
Grady, the 1990 USPGA champion, beaten in a play-off by Mark Calcavecchia for the 1989 British Open, and the winner of nine titles in his career, including a German Open and two Australian PGAs, had little time for caddies. To him they were a necessary evil.
His message to the bag-carriers – “Turn up, keep up, and shut up”.
“Grades” had a lot of caddies.
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