With the odds of Wayne Bennett returning to the Rabbitohs next year shortening by the hour, there is one question he should be asking himself – would it be better off waiting for another gig?
South Sydney have a good roster, not a great one, and the players are getting a little long in the tooth.
Apart from captain Cameron Murray, there are major question marks over the integral players on their roster – Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker and Damien Cook, as well as a gaping hole in the chief playmaker’s role which the Bunnies are banking on English halfback Lewis Dodd to fill.
As Bennett discovered when he was starting the Dolphins off a couple of years ago, it didn’t matter how many zeroes he put on contract offers, it was near-on impossible to prise any marquee recruits from their current clubs.
Anyone who’s anyone when it comes to being a surefire representative star is signed up for next year and more often than not for a season or two or three beyond that.
Souths have little salary cap space to operate with anyway after investing heavily in Jack Wighton on a four-year deal but they have received little value for money from the Dally M Medal winner thus far after sticking him out in the centres.
Tom Burgess is leaving at season’s end, Lachlan Ilias will get out sooner if he can after being punted as their first-choice halfback and Alex Johnston’s try-scoring powers are diminishing on the left wing.
He scored just once in four matches this season but was pinged seven times for being part of a try cause – for anyone who still wonders why he has never been picked for Origin, that statistic is all you need to know.
Walker, who is 34, and Cook, 32, are still good players for their position but past their prime and unlikely to suddenly discover the fountain of youth in the remaining year and a half of their lucrative deals.
Mitchell continues to be the enigma whose fluctuating form and availability has been so crucial to South Sydney’s brief periods of success but lengthier struggles over the past couple of seasons.
Bennett undoubtedly has the rapport and the man management skills to get the best out of the 26-year-old fullback but he can only do so much.
Wayne Bennett. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
When Bennett guided the Bunnies to the 2021 Grand Final, he had to do so with Mitchell suspended for the playoff series after his moment of madness in nearly taking former teammate Joey Manu’s head off in the penultimate round of the regular season.
The hallmark of all champions, whether that’s players or coaches, is that they’re never satisfied with their achievements. When they eventually are, that’s when they retire.
Bennett has made it clear in various media interviews that he does not want to hang up the coaching clipboard.
And after rising above the subterranean expectations for the Dolphins as a start-up franchise, the 74-year-old will probably only get one more chance to add to his record-breaking tally of seven premierships.
The prospect of helming the next expansion team, if and when that franchise gets the green light (2026 at the earliest), would bring next to no chance of another trophy in the short term.
Unless there’s a dramatic turn of events elsewhere, the only other coaching spot at a team for 2025 that would have a chance of going all the way would be Parramatta.
Todd Payten is highly unlikely to be ridden out of Townsville by the Cowboys if they continue to stumble, Ricky Stuart’s time could finally be up at Canberra but they’re at the very early stage of a lengthy roster rebuild while Adam O’Brien is no guarantee to remain at the Knights but disregarding the fact that Bennett left the club a decade ago on bad terms, that is another side that is not likely to be a genuine title contender as it is currently constructed.
The coaching gig at the Eels could be worth waiting for. Unlike the Rabbitohs, they have a bona fide top-line playmaker in Mitchell Moses who is one of the top five halfbacks in the competition.
His halves partner Dylan Brown is at an interesting point in his development at 23 with more than 100 games under his belt already – the Kiwi five-eighth has the talent to become a superstar of the game or he may never make that leap. Who better to get the best out of him than Bennett?
The Eels have the antithesis of Latrell in their No.1 jersey, their wholehearted skipper in Clint Gutherson who is nowhere near as talented as his Rabbitohs rival but runs himself to the point of exhaustion every time he runs onto the park to do whatever it takes to get his team over the line.
With rising stars Will Penisini, Blaize Talagi and J’maine Hopgood already on the books and Zac Lomax on the way, Parra are well positioned to make another tilt at the title after coming so close in 2022 in the remaining few years of Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard leading the way up front.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Souths are short-priced favourites to land his signature with CEO Blake Solly admitting on Wednesday morning that he sits at the “top of the list” of candidates to replace Jason Demetriou after Ben Hornby fills in as caretaker for the rest of this season.
“We’ll take as long as it needs but we’d probably prefer to have it done in weeks, not months. We’re not going to go with a coach who hasn’t coached first-team football before.”
Bennett doesn’t need to prove anything and he could retire tomorrow and still be considered arguably the greatest coach in rugby league history.
But he clearly wants to sign off with another Grand Final lap of honour after going within seconds of doing so in 2015 at Brisbane and a sideline conversion away from forcing extra time when Souths nearly knocked off Penrith three years ago.
The silver fox that he is, Bennett will know exactly all the alternatives – obvious ones or otherwise – that will be available to him before signing anywhere.
He usually makes the right choice, but Souths may not be the best option this time around.
sheek
Roar Guru
Glory Bound, I certainly agree 100% with your last sentence. We live in a capitalist world, sure. But we don't need excessive greed along with our french fries.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
I was nearly going to reference Jack Gibson but that would have left the door open for one of our resident Rugby League historians to list a number of coaches who had premiership success at a number of clubs. . Success before my time and dating back to the bygone days of Rugby league. The period before we opened the door for the invading QLD horde who flooded the NSW competition with their passion and fanaticism for the game. The halcyon days of Rugby League before it was infected by commercialism and greed.
sheek
Roar Guru
Glory bound - fair reply. My annoyance is the statement "there'll never be another so & so" is often said lazily. Apart from a very few exceptions like Bradman & Ali, etc, most extraordinary achievements are within the reach of some of those who follow. Just look at the way Nathan Cleary is being pushed as the next GOAT. We're always in such a rush to promote someone from our own era as the next GOAT. But the way you defended Bennett, you're probably right (although further down I belatedly remembered Pony Halloway). Only Jack Gibson precedes his achievement, off the top of my head. Gus Gould & Tim Sheens both won premierships at 2 different clubs, while Pony Halloway (I only just thought of him) is probably the original Wayne Bennett, winning 8 premierships at both Balmain & Easts, & also playing 10 tests for the Kangaroos.
Nat
Roar Guru
Cheap scotch philosophy.
Robbo
Roar Rookie
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. At the time that they let Reynolds go I believe they were concerned about the condition of his body in relation to the length of time he wanted to be re-signed for
Gwendolyn
Roar Rookie
The one thing that annoys me about all these Bennett discussions. It is like the Dolphins don’t exist as an option. I think it shows just how Sydney-centric lots of thinking is. It is all about Rabbitohs or Eels. Personally, I’d like him to stay at the Dolphins (and I say that as an Eels fan). Better for the game ultimately than just another Sydney team. Edit – well after a modicum of research I can see some articles refer to Kristian Woolf taking over the Dolphins next year. But other articles say Bennett has an option for 2025. Which is true?
steveng
Roar Rookie
Wayne Bennett will be coaching the Bunnies in 2025 and he will rebuild this side to be a GF winning side, mark my words :laughing: as the top management at Souths are useless and that lost that they need a guy like Wayne Bennett that will show them some common sense and how to manage an NRL club. I was very surprised that Wayne Bennett allowed the Adam Reynolds transfer to the Broncs in 2021 to happen and didn't talk Solly especially out of letting him go, as all the other Souths bugerlugs are just clueless (but then again, that must have been a Queenslander leg up to the Broncs by Wayne imo) as Blake Solly Mark Ellison have done allot of damage to the Bunnies in the last 3 years and that is why Souths are where they are today!
Bingo
Roar Rookie
Souths have got value out of Wighton. He’s been one of their best every week.
Good Grief
Roar Rookie
Looks to me like Souths need Bennett more than Bennett needs Souths. Apart from capability for getting the best out of the current roster, Souths need a coach with standing that can help them recruit. What player would want to join Souths currently without Bennett?
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
“But he clearly wants to sign off with another Grand Final lap of honour after ….2015”. That is quite an assumption. He loves the game and imparting wisdom to young men. He doesn’t NEED to add to his premiership tally. Surely that is secondary and peripheral.
Robbo
Roar Rookie
That wasn't the question .... are you staking your reputation on this revelation?
Robbo
Roar Rookie
Makes it a good option - get the bucks and succeed or hear the "even the Supercoach couldn't fix it"
steveng
Roar Rookie
Solly should be sacked as he's useless
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
Ray has been excellent too, so I guess life goes on if we lose Su'a.
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
So Solly was lying his backside off on 360?
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
unfortunately, quite possible. He likes Uncle Wayne and would be a good pick up. Almost lost him to the 'Phins a year or so ago.
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
Come on you bvggers, I'm getting shudders thinking about old Dragon's coaches.
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
Not a lot of good ones about.
aerial lizard
Roar Rookie
He's been having a crack this year. Do you reckon we'll lose him?
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
"There will always be another Wayne Bennett. He’ll just be known by a different name." No. I don't agree. Look at Bellamy and Robinson. Both very successful but too scared to risk their reputation and coaching careers at another club. Except for one good year at the Warriors, Ivan Cleary was looking like a flop as a coach punted from the Panthers and struggling at the Tigers until his son Nathan saved his coaching career. Nathan was set to sign with any club that signed his father as head coach which lead to the Panthers calling Ivan back into the fold. Now, Cleary will never risk leaving the Panthers. Des Hasler won 2 premierships with Manly and lost another to the salary cap rorters. Des got the Bulldogs to 2 GFs in a 2 year period. So Des is the only other comparable coach but way behind Wayne Bennett. There won't be another Wayne Bennett because, like Bellamy and Robinson, coaches will not test themselves at another club once they have tasted success as Bennett has.