Brisbane board approve move for Anthony Seibold to be next Broncos coach

THE Brisbane board has voted unanimously for Anthony Seibold to spearhead life after Wayne Bennett, paving the way for the Souths coach to sign with the Broncos as early as tomorrow.

Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold is set to sign a multimillion-dollar deal with the Broncos. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

THE Brisbane board has voted unanimously for Anthony Seibold to spearhead life after Wayne Bennett, paving the way for the Souths coach to ink a multimillion-dollar deal with the Broncos.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Brisbane hierarchy have rubber-stamped Seibold as Bennett’s successor from 2020 after a board meeting at the club’s $27 million headquarters.

The board’s decision to formally back Seibold will see the Rockhampton product named as the Broncos’ next coach, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Broncos chief executive Paul White has been in negotiations with Seibold for the past week and has been given the green light to ramp-up talks to poach the Rabbitohs coach and activate Brisbane’s succession plan for Bennett.

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Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold is set to sign a multimillion-dollar deal with the Broncos. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

In the process, the Brisbane board has delivered a crushing blow to club legend Kevin Walters’ hopes of succeeding Bennett at his beloved Broncos.

The two other prospective candidates, Broncos assistant Jason Demetriou and Kiwi coach Michael Maguire, have been ruled out, prompting the latter to sign a three-year deal with the Wests Tigers.

White today fronted the Broncos board to deliver his summation of the search for Bennett’s successor, which began in May when the Brisbane CEO sounded out Storm coach Craig Bellamy.

Bellamy’s decision to stay loyal to Melbourne prompted White to explore the prospect of signing Seibold, who steered South Sydney to the grand-final qualifier last season in his maiden year of NRL coaching.

Now White has got his man.

Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has already signed on to coach Souths from 2020. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

The Broncos board heard how Seibold blitzed the interview process, with the 44-year-old former university lecturer rated “a cut above” Walters, Demetriou and Maguire in their respective presentations.

Seibold also performed well in psychometric testing held by an independent company, giving the Broncos board compelling evidence he has the skill-set to break the club’s 13-year premiership drought.

White was in the final stages of talks with Seibold and his management tonight.

Speculation has suggested Seibold could be handed a massive five-year deal but the Broncos will come under pressure to match the four-year extension tabled by the Rabbitohs.

Should Brisbane’s board ratify a four-year deal, Seibold’s contract with the Broncos would be worth in excess of $3 million.

While Seibold has impressed the NRL with his coaching methods this season, the ex-Queensland Origin assistant faces a daunting assignment winning over a number of Broncos legends.

Former Broncos trio Glenn Lazarus, Chris Johns and Kerrod Walters have lashed Seibold in recent days with Johns claiming Seibold’s record did not warrant him succeeding Bennett at Red Hill.

The Broncos board expects Seibold’s tenure at Red Hill to begin in 2020 but it may yet begin earlier if Brisbane and Souths bosses agree to a straight swap with Rabbitohs-bound Bennett.

Originally published as Brisbane board approve move for Anthony Seibold to be next Broncos coach