A two-hour meeting with club officials hasn’t quite finalised the gig but Wayne Bennett is “99 per cent” sure he’ll be the Dolphins’ inaugural NRL coach next week.
Bennett held a two-hour meeting with officials of the NRL’s newest club at Redcliffe Leagues Club on Friday to thrash out a deal for the 71-year-old’s services.
The meeting came just two days after the NRL confirmed the Dolphins would be the competition’s 17th franchise.
“There’s a couple of things we’ve got to sort out but it’s nothing major,” the seven-time premiership coach told reporters.
“I’m 99 per cent sure we’ll get it worked out … we’ll come back next week and finish it off.”
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The former Brisbane, South Sydney, Newcastle and St George Illawarra mentor is an attractive proposition for the Dolphins as they prepare for life in the NRL.
Not only would Bennett give added lure to potential recruits through his standing in the game but his experience as the Broncos’ foundation coach in 1988 is another plus.
Under Bennett, the Broncos became one of the game’s powerhouse clubs as he led the team to six premierships in two decades before his initial departure from Red Hill in 2008.
“They’ve got a wonderful facility here, it’s a great credit to them as a club what they’ve built here but now they’ve got to build an NRL team,” Bennett said.
“They’re going to get a lot more attention and pressure than they’ve had in the past.
“I just think I can play a part with that.”
Once the appointment is finalised, Bennett’s first task will be building a roster for the Dolphins’ entry into the NRL competition in 2023 with the player market opening on November 1.
Paul
Guest
Interesting that they say that they’d like to be a mainly Queensland born player based team. Yet the first player that they will likely sign is Parramatta’s , Penrith junior RCG.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Anthony Seibold, andrew? :silly: The majority of houses in the area are either steel frame constructions or have Termimesh barriers and T2 treated pine frames to protect against white-anting. And, given the previous history between Bennett and Seibold, what could possibly go wrong? :laughing:
Nat
Roar Guru
I'm not much of a fan of her singing either but that's not really her strong point. :silly:
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Never liked her mate, even back then. Btw, she had a first name. Her full name was/is: Madonna Louise Ciccone.
Nat
Roar Guru
Would you care if it was 1980's Madonna!
andrew
Roar Rookie
I'll be interested to see who his assistant coaches will be. At Saints it was Steve Price, he was a dud when he got the top job,at Newcastle well they didn't go any good after Bennett left. Rabbitohs? Well Jason Demetriou is on a hiding to nothing if Souths don't equal or at least come close to this year's performance.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
What's the last 1%? Is he waiting for the Dolphins to get a geographical name? Imagine being introduced to your future wife... and she doesn't have a first name! :laughing: