NRL expansion: Wayne Bennett in talks with two Brisbane bidders

There’s a war brewing in the fight to become Brisbane’s second NRL team with two expansion bidders already in talks with Wayne Bennett.

The expansion battle has exploded with Wayne Bennett on the radar of rivals the Jets and Firehawks in a looming $1 million showdown to bring the super coach home to spearhead Brisbane’s second team.

The NRL will officially call for expressions of interest on Friday and the expansion race has begun with a bang with Bennett having had contact with the Firehawks and Jets in a three-way fight with the Dolphins to become the code’s 17th team.

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Firehawks bid powerbroker Shane Richardson – the man who lured Bennett to Souths in 2019 – inspected the Rabbitohs set-up last month, but insists no deal has been done with the 71-year-old as they also consider Queensland coach Paul Green.

The Jets first approached Bennett in February and have a $1 million budget to sign the coaching icon as their foundation mentor should they clinch the licence as Brisbane’s second team for 2023.

Wayne Bennett has been in contact with two of Brisbane’s expansion hopefuls.

Speaking exclusively to News Corp, Richardson confirmed he recently caught up with Bennett, but stressed the Firehawks are keeping all options open as they draw up a hit-list of coaches in their bid to enter the NRL.

“We went down to Souths a few weeks ago and we caught up with Wayne,” he said.

“We had a chat, but he was one of a number of South Sydney people we spoke to that day as part of putting our bid together.

“I have a history with Wayne and I was involved in bringing him to Souths, but there’s been no offer and there are a number of coaches we are looking at for the job.

“I want to make it clear we haven’t signed Wayne Bennett.

“We’ve spoken about which coaches are an option and of course Wayne is an option, but so is Paul Green, who actually played for the Easts Tigers.

Brisbane Firehawks. Pictures: Supplied

“There has been no formal talks, but we will need to appoint a coach as quickly as possible because you can’t sign players without potential recruits knowing who the coach is.”

Bennett declined to comment on the expansion battle but the Souths mentor last month told News Corp he was “open to all offers” as he prepares to return to Queensland in November.

While Bennett is focusing on winning a premiership at Souths, his future will become clearer in the next eight weeks.

The ARL Commission will make a definitive call on expansion in July and if a second Brisbane team is rubber-stamped, as expected, the Jets, Firehawks and Dolphins will move to hire a coach before the conclusion of the 2021 premiership.

Bennett was born and raised in Ipswich’s western-corridor region and the Jets are armed with a $1 million chequebook to lure the NRL’s greatest coach back to his roots.

“We’ve already had talks with Wayne and there would be a number of players that would follow him if he came to Brisbane for a new team,” Jets spokesman Nick Livermore said.

“Wayne Bennett would be the perfect candidate to spearhead the creation of a second Brisbane team.

Shane Richardson (R) helped bring Wayne Bennett to South Sydney in 2019. Picture: AAP/Dean Lewins

“Wayne won’t come cheap, we understand that, but we have a budget set aside if we win the licence and he is interested in joining us.

“Wayne is a proven winner. He is a western-corridor product. He was born in the region and he has property in the area so the synergies between the Jets and Wayne are perfectly aligned.

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the other two bids are also chasing Wayne.

“He is a priority for us, but our number one goal now is to demonstrate to the NRL that there is only choice to make when it comes to choosing their 17th team.”

The three prospective NRL teams will have a month from Friday to complete their bid submissions and Richardson is relishing the showdown with the Jets and Dolphins.

“We are a huge chance, mark my words,” he said.

“I always had a feeling this expansion strategy was real and now it’s not about egos, it’s about quality bids.

“It should be a lot of fun over the next four or five weeks.

“It’s blast off in the expansion battle ... and we’re ready for it.”