Brisbane board formally endorse two-year upgrade for coach Wayne Bennett
BRONCOS master Wayne Bennett has clinched a rich new deal to stay in Brisbane. But how long does the 66-year-old supercoach have left?
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WAYNE Bennett has clinched a $1.8 million extension with the Broncos in a move that will see him become the first man in rugby league history to coach 800 first-grade games.
Brisbane’s board formally endorsed a two-year upgrade for Bennett in a major coup for the Broncos as they prepare for Friday night’s grand-final rematch against the Cowboys.
As revealed by The Courier-Mail on February 28, the Broncos hierarchy began negotiations to extend Bennett’s tenure following Brisbane’s fairytale surge to the decider last season.
Now the Broncos have staved off a poaching raid, with Brisbane CEO Paul White in the final stages of brokering a deal that will keep Bennett at Red Hill until the end of 2019.
Well-placed sources said Bennett’s retention is “imminent”.
As the code’s most successful coach, Bennett could have easily commanded an annual salary of $1 million at a rival club. But it is understood Bennett will accept less – around $900,000 a season – to coach his beloved Broncos beyond his 69th birthday.
Bennett has been negotiating directly with Brisbane CEO White, with whom he shares a 30-year association dating back to their days at the Queensland Police Academy.
Now 66, Bennett was tipped to retire next year, after the expiration of his current deal, but White says the super coach is showing no signs of slowing down.
“I’m certainly very comfortable with Wayne and where he is at now,” said White, who added he had no issues with Bennett agreeing to coach the England national team.
“People ask me about the England job and I think that is a great thing for him.
“As great as it is for international rugby league, that is also about Wayne challenging himself which I love.
“Not only does he put our club on the map in England but it shows his desire to continually improve.
“He keeps himself sharp, he is physically fit, he is a non-drinker ... I have no problems with him coaching on.”
Bennett coaches his 739th game on Friday night against North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium. He has 458 wins from 738 matches for a 62 per cent success rate and will surge past the 800-game mark by calling the shots in 2019.
Former Broncos premiership-winning pivot Ben Ikin believes Bennett is now a superior coach to the man who led Brisbane to their most recent title in 2006.
“He’s a better coach now than he’s ever been,” said Ikin, Bennett’s son-in-law.
“The fire still burns for Wayne – he gets as depressed today about a loss as I’ve ever seen him.
“You don’t hurt if you don’t care. He is still highly motivated, enthusiastic for the job and loves to be hands-on, so everything he was doing when he was winning comps in the early-’90s, he’s still doing as well now.
“It’s great he’s going on. The key for the Broncos is to suck him dry of all the intellectual property he has built up over 30 years to make sure when he decides to leave, all that gets to stay behind and remain in the walls of the Broncos.”
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