Brisbane want to sign coach Wayne Bennett’s successor for 2020 before season 2019
AFTER the debacle that marked the end of Wayne Bennett’s era at Brisbane, the Broncos want to tie up their next coach as smoothly as possible — and well in advance.
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THE Brisbane Broncos want to sign coach Wayne Bennett’s successor for 2020 before next season kicks off.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Brisbane’s search for the next head coach of the Broncos is advanced and could be finalised before Christmas this year.
Bennett’s reign at the Broncos will end after the 2019 NRL season following the club’s decision to reject a proposal for a one-year extension from the seven-time title winner.
Bennett, 68, was seeking to end his coaching career at the Broncos in 2020, however Brisbane is on the hunt for a long-term candidate to lead the club into 2022 and beyond.
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Bennett has committed to coaching the Broncos next season, but that situation could change if he fields a better offer from a rival club given his desire to continue coaching beyond 2019.
After missing out on the signature of Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, who committed to the Storm for a further three years, the Broncos turned their focus to the other candidates.
The contracts of at least eight current NRL coaches expire at the end of the 2019 season, giving Brisbane ample potential targets.
At the top of the list is Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold, a former Broncos reserve grade player who guided South Sydney to a shock preliminary finals berth in his first season as an NRL coach this year.
The highly-rated Seibold, 43, cut his teeth under Bellamy in the successful Storm system and shapes as an ideal candidate to replace Bennett.
Other current NRL coaches without a contract for 2020 include Parramatta’s Brad Arthur, Manly’s Trent Barrett, Gold Coast’s Garth Brennan, Cronulla’s Shane Flanagan, New Zealand’s Steve Kearney, St George Illawarra’s Paul McGregor and Canterbury’s Dean Pay.
There are also options outside the current NRL crop including South Sydney’s 2014 title winner Michael Maguire, Queensland Origin coach Kevin Walters, Storm assistant Adam O’Brien and Bennett’s preference, Broncos assistant Jason Demetriou.
The Broncos are preparing to be flooded with applicants given the club’s potential to pay $1 million-a-season and the attractiveness of its roster and facilities.
The timing of the Broncos’ announcement around Bennett’s future was to ensure the team could have a speculation-free season in 2019.
If the club can secure its 2020 coach before next season kicks off, that would eliminate another level of uncertainty at Red Hill and allow the Broncos to plan for the new coach’s arrival.
Broncos CEO Paul White and chairman Karl Morris must now secure the right candidate, something the club failed to do when Bennett last departed in 2008.
Bennett’s replacement, Ivan Henjak, was sacked in 2011 and his successor, Anthony Griffin, was punted in 2014 to accommodate Bennett’s return to the Broncos.
Having won their sixth and last NRL premiership in 2006, the Broncos can ill-afford to make another mistake as they attempt to snap the longest title drought in the club’s 30-year history.
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