NRL 2024: Departing QRL boss Bruce Hatcher calls for Wayne Bennett to be the next Immortal
In a wide-ranging interview, departing QRL boss Bruce Hatcher has urged the NRL to make Wayne Bennett the next Immortal, called for a fifth team in Queensland and backed Reece Walsh to be the Maroons’ next Wally Lewis.
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Departing Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher has called for Wayne Bennett to be crowned the NRL’s next Immortal and says Reece Walsh can be the Maroons’ biggest superstar since Wally Lewis.
Hatcher’s remarkable 55-year journey in rugby league is over with the legendary administrator passing the QRL baton to Brian Canavan after presiding over one of the most successful periods in Queensland’s league history.
The 78-year-old has witnessed just about everything in rugby league, from the birth of State of Origin in 1980 and Queensland’s record reign, to the bitter Super League war of the 1990s and the rise and fall of the Brisbane Broncos.
Along the way, Hatcher has cultivated a 50-year relationship with Bennett and believes the newly-minted Hall of Famer should become the first coach to be added to the elite NRL Immortals club.
WAYNE’S WORLD
A former star player at Brisbane Easts, Hatcher recalls forming a bond with Bennett in the early 1970s when the pair roomed together in the bowels of Lang Park as part of a Queensland training camp.
Fast forward half a century and Hatcher says there is no bigger titan of the code than Bennett.
In August, the NRL named Souths and Easts great Ron Coote as rugby league’s 14th Immortal. The honour has historically only been reserved for the code’s greatest players, but Hatcher says when the next Immortal is named in 2028, Bennett has to be the one.
“Absolutely Wayne Bennett should be an Immortal,” said Hatcher, who retires after serving three terms as QRL chairman.
“I don’t know if Wayne qualifies as a coach, but he should be (an Immortal) if you’re talking about influence on the game.
“He represented his state and country as a player and what he has achieved in coaching, I don’t know if anyone will ever match it.
“Aside from that, it’s what he has done away from the game.
“I’ve lost count of the number of times he has helped people and the lives he has saved or shaped in some way.”
Bennett has won seven NRL premierships as a coach but Hatcher says his greatest ever memory is the 74-year-old’s magic act in winning the Covid-affected 2020 Origin series after answering an SOS from the Maroons.
“That for me is Wayne’s best coaching feat,” Hatcher recalls.
“I couldn’t believe what he did in that series.
“We were basically f***ed for that series, we didn’t have a coach (Kevin Walters had resigned to take up the Broncos job), the cupboard was bare, so I decided to ring Wayne and say, ‘Mate we need your help’.
“Wayne agreed to do it. He gave debuts to a stack of guys and somehow he pulled it all together to win the series for Queensland.
“That’s a mark of Wayne. He has been truly remarkable and I’d love to see him considered for it (NRL Immortal selection).”
THE BRONCOS
As the state’s flagship club, the fortunes of the Broncos always resonate with the QRL, who had a 30 per cent ownership stake when Brisbane were founded in 1988.
The QRL reluctantly gave up their stake after a legal stoush threatened to turn ugly and Hatcher, given his ties with Brisbane foundation coach Bennett, has always kept a close eye on the Broncos.
Hatcher was saddened by the recent sacking of club legend Kevin Walters, but says the winds of change involving the arrival of Michael Maguire can sweep the Broncos to a premiership.
Maguire hails from the ACT and is the second ‘foreigner’ to take charge of the Broncos after Ivan Henjak, who was born in Croatia and succeeded Bennett in 2009-10.
There is a view only a Queenslander like Bennett understands what makes the Broncos tick, but Hatcher is adamant Canberran Maguire can break Brisbane’s 19-year premiership drought.
Maguire comes to the Broncos with the hot hand after toppling Queensland this year as NSW Origin coach.
“It’s interesting that the Broncos will have a NSW coach and the most recent State of Origin coach,” Hatcher said.
“It’s a shame that the Broncos have got themselves into this situation where within 12 months they’ve gone from being a few minutes away from winning a grand final in Sydney to performing well below the standard accepted.
“The outcome of all that is that a coach has been jettisoned (Kevin Walters) and the Broncos have brought in a New South Wales coach to fix the problem.
“I’ve got nothing wrong with Michael Maguire. He’s a very decent human being and a taskmaster and a disciplinarian.
“If there’s one thing the Broncos need, it’s all of that.”
Asked if Maguire can fit in with the Broncos to deliver a premiership, Hatcher said: “I think the answer is yes, you’ve got to accept him on his ability and his performance.
“Our culture in Queensland is very different to NSW, but Michael has shown he is a winner at every level.”
HAIL THE NEW KING
Hatcher rates Wally Lewis the greatest player he ever saw and while there will never be another ‘King’, the retired QRL chairman believes Reece Walsh can be Queensland’s next generational star.
The 22-year-old last week inked the richest Broncos deal in history, worth $1.1 million a season, and Hatcher says ‘Reece Lightning’ can win over millions of fans like King Wally in his pomp.
“If I had to rate the player who influenced the most matches I saw at the highest level, it was Wally Lewis,” Hatcher said.
“Wally wouldn’t make 50 tackles in a game, but he could make three or five trysavers, then go up the other end and win the game for his side.
“You only have to look at some of the highlights from State of Origin and some of his matchwinning moments were simply unbelievable.”
Walsh made his Queensland debut last year and Hatcher says he can be the NRL’s No.1 player over the next decade.
“Absolutely … he’s just a supreme talent,” Hatcher said of Walsh.
“A team is only as good as its essential parts and if Reece has one of his blinders, that’s at least 12 points he scores on his own.
“Of course, Reece is only young and he’s still got a lot to learn.
“His speed is incredible and he’s one player who can make an enormous difference to team performance.
“The key for Reece is the Broncos can’t have this dependence on just one player to turn the game for them.
“Hopefully they can allow Reece to flourish in the team environment.”
ORIGIN THREAT
Queensland has remarkably punched above its weight in the Origin arena for more than 40 years.
Despite only 20 per cent of current NRL players being eligible for Queensland, the Maroons have won 14 of the past 20 series.
But Hatcher warned the ARL Commission not to take Queensland for granted and believes the Sunshine State needs a fifth NRL franchise to ensure a healthy supply of Maroons talent.
“The AFL are coming for us in Brisbane’s western corridor,” Hatcher said.
“I think another (NRL) team in that region creates a greater pool of talent for Queensland.
“You can’t kill Origin unless you’ve got a major decline in talent.
“I know there’s talk about Perth, Papua New Guinea and another New Zealand team, but we’ve got to cover that western corridor region, from Logan right through to Ipswich and Toowoomba.
“The AFL have been very selective about where they are spending their money and they are targeting Brisbane’s western corridor.
“Elite sport is about numbers. The more playing numbers you have at grassroots level, the more elite sportsmen you are going to get.”
THE TRIBUTE
A fearless operator, Hatcher was never afraid to speak his mind and was renowned for passionately protecting Queensland’s league patch. QRL chief executive Ben Ikin says Hatcher’s departure is an enormous loss for the sport.
“I didn’t know Bruce prior to joining the QRL board, but having worked with him closely over the past six years, I can now say he is one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Ikin said.
“He clearly brings a lot to the table in terms of capability, but the thing I admire most about Bruce is his endurance and his capacity to stay the course when things get hard, which is rare trait these days.”
Hatcher added: “I’ve just got an enormous passion for the game and I’d like to think I always stood up for what I felt was right.
“I’ve made enemies, but I love the game and I love the people in it. The cross-section of people you meet in rugby league is incomparable.
“There are so many people who have never been given an opportunity in life to actually find it in rugby league, if they’re good enough.”
NEXT NRL CEO
Hatcher believes Ikin, the former Broncos football boss, should succeed Andrew Abdo as the NRL’s next CEO.
“Ben Ikin coming back to the QRL from the Broncos was a masterstroke,” he said.
“He is not only a great person, but a great people person.
“Ben actually delivers a message that is clear and certain. He is non-confrontational until he has to be.
“If you f**k with Ben Ikin, you’ll only do it once.
“He’s always in the trenches with the troops, but he’s got a very inquiring mind.
“He’s got such a supreme knowledge that I would love to see him run the whole game one day.”
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