The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane Broncos are set to face off in Round 8 of the NRL season for the first time since the clubs swapped coaches at the end of the 2018 season.
Wayne Bennett was replaced by Anthony Seibold at the Broncos late last year and ultimately took Seibold’s place at the Rabbitohs, completing a highly unusual coach swap that followed weeks of media speculation, testy press conferences, secretive phone calls and confusion among fans.
Roar rugby league expert Mary Konstantopoulos joined us on the latest episode of the Game of Codes podcast to discuss the highly anticipated clash between the two sides, which both coaches are claiming is nothing more than another round of footy.
Listen to the discussion:
These men are professionals. There is no doubt they’ll be 100 per cent focused on their respective jobs when the whistle blows. They won’t let anything cloud their judgement.
Bennett delights in toying with the media. Seibold despises the relentless questions about off-field drama. But neither coach can ignore their history with the other, whether they like it or not. Make no mistake, in a small part of each coach’s brain, there will be a voice screaming at them to win this game just to stick it to ‘em.
When the match is over, one coach will inevitably savour the result a little more than usual. The other will disguise their bruised ego behind the usual disappointment of a loss.
The contrasting status of each team only adds to what’s at stake: South Sydney have started the season with six wins from seven games under the guidance of Bennett, while Seibold’s men have only managed two.
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Insider
Roar Rookie
That toxic geriatric has now left 2 clubs rudderless and is attempting to undermine another, it will be very personal the Souths fans will be kicking stones once skeletors time at Souths is over, wait and see
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Oh, it's VERY personal, BOTH ways! I doubt that any of the Broncos players have anything but respect for Bennett while there will be more than just a few of the Bunnies players who are unhappy with the way Seibold carried on like a school girl at the end of his tenure at the Rabbitohs. That dummy spit that forced the immediate coaching swap and burned the only bridge back to Redfern was truly EPIC! In fact, that dummy spit would have won an Olympic gold medal and set a world record if only it was a registered event by the IOC (the International Olympic Committee). I think there might be a few Rabbitohs players wondering if Seibold was giving 100% or at least focusing 100% of his attention on Souths finals campaign. Especially when it came out that Seibold contacted Paul White in April 2018 to express his interest in returning to Brisbane and taking over the Broncos. How else do you explain Seibold's complete failure to fully utiluse his full 17 man side in the run to the finals and the final series? In week 1 of the finals against the Storm in Melbourne Seibold only played 15 and left 2 players fresh on the bench even after Souths were reduced to 12 after George Burgess was sin-binned. In that game Sam Burgess, John Sutton and Damien Cook all played 80 mins and Angus Crichton played 70 mins. Souths lost that game by just 1 point in the final minute! Was Seibold actually paying attention or dreaming of life in Brisbane I wonder? Well, too late now to complain if that "dream job" became your worst nightmare. Enjoy the karma Seibold. You deserve everything that's coming to you. Now Andrew, if I feel that way then how do you think Wayne Bennett feels after decades of service to the Broncos and falling like Caesar on the Idea of March? Trust me, it's personal!
Paul
Roar Guru
This game has huge significance for both coaches, Peter. Bennett wants nothing mre than beating the Broncos to show he's superior and the guys at Red Hill were wrong to boot him early, while Seibold desperately needs to prove he's a worthy successor to Bennett and what better way of showing that than winning. It's not just the media who think there's going to be some added reasons for each side to win this game.
Andrew Miller
Editor
Couldn't disagree more! This isn't a sexting scandal. Nothing wrong with a bit of extra feeling in a match, it's what makes rivalries in sport so entertaining. It may not be an issue for the players, but the way Siebold carries himself at press conferences, you surely aren't telling me he isn't silently hoping he can prove himself against his old club? Bennett has even more of a reason to enjoy a win given the obvious rift between him and the higher-ups at the Broncos.
Peter Piper
Guest
The media really love this story don't they. Just bring on the footy, we don't care about Bennett/Seibold