Coaching Broncos means handling pressure of being face of the biggest club in rugby league
WHEN you take on the job to coach the Broncos you become the face of the biggest club in rugby league. Should Anthony Seibold swap South Sydney for Brisbane, he’ll face a whole new level of scrutiny.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
WAYNE Bennett still runs five kilometres every second day and does weights four times a week.
I’ve seen him at Cronulla making light work of the steps from the dressing sheds to the coaching box at the top of the grandstand.
And as the little journo behind him was huffing and puffing like he was climbing Mount Everest, the old bloke just motored on like he was off to pick up a bargain at Aldi.
I asked Bennett about it when I interviewed him the week he was coaching his 800th NRL game.
He said he stays fit to stay sharp, so he can be effective and at the top of his game.
He didn’t make it out to be a big deal. In fact, he told me not to write it.
So don’t tell him I did.
But the reason I tell this story is because it seems Bennett’s age has suddenly become the albatross around his neck.
For God’s sake, can someone please put him in a nursing home. That’s the narrative they want us to push.
I even read last week that Parramatta’s new chairman Sean McElduff (I hope I spelt his name right) came out and said Bennett was not on the Eels’ radar because “Brad Arthur is the right man for the job”.
“And even if he wasn’t, I don’t believe Bennett is at a stage in his career where he would suit our plans,” McElduff added.
WANT TO WIN 2018 NRL TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP GRAND FINAL TICKETS? FILL OUT THE SURVEY BELOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Now, I’m not sure if the new Parra chair has officially met the game’s most successful coach, but with due respect, the Eels haven’t won a comp since 1986, when John Monie was coach.
That’s seven premierships ago for Bennett.
Anyway, it all leads to the debate that will take centre stage tonight when the Broncos tackle South Sydney: is another NRL club taking a chance on Bennett at 68 anymore of a gamble than the Broncos courting a first-year head coach in Anthony Seibold?
I ask this with the utmost respect for the job Seibold has done with the Rabbitohs this year.
Aside from their faithful, few outside the club would have picked Souths to be a top-eight team in 2018, let alone share the competition lead after 22 rounds.
But on Thursday night Seibold might get a look into his own future when he walks into Suncorp Stadium with all eyes on him.
This is the challenge when you take on the job to coach the Broncos — you become the face of the biggest club in rugby league.
Listen! Nick Campton and Tim Williams discuss where Ben Barba will end up in his NRL return, who will win the Dally M Medal, while also reviewing the Roosters-Souths blockbuster.
You can download the League Central podcast on iTunes.
We all saw the toll last week took on Ivan Cleary after news broke of Anthony Griffin’s sacking. Cleary was so rattled he waited five days to read a prepared statement to deny he would be leaving Wests Tigers and returning to Penrith.
Even then, Cleary point-blank refused to take questions.
Imagine if that was Bennett up in Brisbane, refusing to talk when news broke of the Broncos’ chase to sign Craig Bellamy?
On a big-news day in Brisbane, Bennett is front page. Most days, he’s back page.
But never a day goes by when he’s no page. It just goes with the territory.
Yet down in Sydney, coaches get away with sharing the load.
Just look at the way Trent Robinson has handled the expectation on the Sydney Roosters this year.
Robinson has hardly spoken all season outside his pre- and post-match media conferences, and his team is top of the ladder.
Yet no one seems to take offence because the news cycle doesn’t rely on one club.
But up in Brisbane, the Broncos are the biggest show in town.
When Ivan Henjak and Griffin coached Brisbane, it wasn’t football knowledge they struggled with.
Seibold is an impressive man and the way he handles the media, you wouldn’t say it is beyond him.
It’s no secret Seibold has moved to top spot on Brisbane’s succession plan after the Broncos missed poaching Paul Green and Bellamy.
The talk is the Broncos want Seibold for 2019, even though he still has a contract at Souths for next season and Bennett has a deal to stay in Brisbane.
Seibold has wisely put off negotiations until after the season.
Understandably, he doesn’t want it to distract his players ahead of the finals, while it also gives him time to do what’s best for his own future.
When Seibold took over after Michael Maguire’s axing, he didn’t get the chance to negotiate his deal. It was a take-it-or-leave-it conversation.
It left him going into this season as the game’s lowest-paid head coach.
But that will change come October, with the Broncos getting more and more desperate.
Seibold is obviously a bloody good football coach. But blokes who have lived this life at the coalface will tell you they learn their greatest lessons through adversity.
So far, through no fault of his own, Seibold can only be judged on success.
If he does go to Brisbane, he will walk into a club that hasn’t seen such turmoil since Bennett sacked Wally Lewis all the way back in 1989.
People up north are already taking sides. We saw it with the report that Bennett and skipper Darius Boyd were no-shows at chief executive Paul White’s recent annual team barbecue.
It was also reported several other players left early, turning up “en masse” to Bennett’s home.
It’s unfortunate, but it is the way it is. I’m not sure if people expected Bennett to turn up with chocolates.
The next coach will have to deal with the fallout.
Of course, Seibold might not want to leave Redfern, which would leave Brisbane in a spot of bother.
Meanwhile, it has only given Bennett more motivation.
Forget the history lesson about what Bennett has achieved throughout his career, the fact is since 2015 his winning percentage remains second only to Bellamy.
But people seem intent on focusing on Bennett’s age.
Maybe another club, other than Parramatta of course, might be prepared to look beyond the birth certificate.
At the very least, we know Bennett will be capable of making his way up to the coaching box via the stairs. He might even have time for a quick nap before the game gets started.
Originally published as Coaching Broncos means handling pressure of being face of the biggest club in rugby league
Gus’ ‘doctored’ claim ignites NRL conspiracy
The NRL Grand Final’s controversial no try scandal has taken a wild turn despite the game releasing the angle the decision was based on.
Kangaroos selection shocks: NRL legends’ Test careers appear over
Mal Meninga has dropped a major selection bombshell by overlooking both James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga for Kangaroos selection, with the list of surprise omissions and debutants not ending there. See the full squad.