South Sydney strips Wayne Bennett of boardroom power

WAYNE Bennett’s reign as the Big Boss is over with Souths hierarchy instructing the Broncos super coach to stay out of the boardroom when he arrives in Redfern.

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WAYNE Bennett’s reign as the Big Boss is over with Souths hierarchy instructing the Broncos super coach to adhere to ‘The Rabbitoh Way’ if he wants to succeed at Redfern.

The Courier-Mail can reveal the inside story on Bennett’s signing with Souths which was so secretive it was brokered at an airport without the knowledge of Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe.

Crowe spoke to Bennett just once — a congratulatory phone call from New York 24 hours before the 68-year-old was formally unveiled last Thursday as South Sydney’s coach from 2020.

While Hollywood megastar Crowe and Souths bosses are delighted to have Bennett on board, the NRL’s greatest coach is under no illusions about the decision-making structure at Redfern.

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At the Broncos, Bennett had the final say on hiring and firing players and enjoyed enormous clout, but at the Rabbitohs, the veteran coach will have a clearly defined role.

“Wayne will only have to worry about coaching,” Souths boss Shane Richardson said.

“The Rabbitoh Way is not for one coach to come in and change the whole club.

“If that happens, a club can be destroyed by a coach leaving.

“We have an outstanding board which allows me to do my job and from my discussions Wayne is happy to come in and just be the coach, just as ‘Seibs’ (Seibold) was.

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“Wayne will coach and select the side, but the recruitment and the other decisions, we will run the club as we run it now.

“Seibs didn’t recruit the side, the club did, and when ‘Madge’ (Michael Maguire) won the comp (in 2014), he didn’t recruit the side, we did.

“Obviously we will consult Wayne on some things but like our previous coaches, who did a great job, we just want him to worry about coaching.”

South Sydney Rabbitohs GM Shane Richardson. Picture: AAP

Throughout his unrivalled 30-year coaching career in the big league, Bennett’s power has been largely unfettered.

The seven-time premiership-winner has built clubs on his terms dating back to his debut year at the Broncos in 1988, when he famously told Brisbane’s founders not to interfere with his job as coach.

That stance has put Bennett on a collision course with current Brisbane CEO Paul White, leading to his demise at a Broncos club set to appoint Souths’ coach Seibold as his successor.

Surprisingly, Rabbitohs owner Crowe was not as involved in the Bennett poaching raid as some would believe.

Richardson was waiting to board a plane for a Fijian holiday on October 10 when he fielded a call from a third-party associate who asked if Souths would consider signing Bennett to replace Seibold.

Bennett only agreed in principle to coaching Souths at 1pm last Wednesday, four hours before Seibold failed to meet a 5pm deadline on a four-year extension at the Rabbitohs.

A Souths contract was sent to Bennett’s email in England, where he is coaching the British team in a three-Test series against the Kiwis.

Crowe had no idea Bennett was in talks with the Rabbitohs until Richardson effectively sealed the deal.

The 54-year-old movie star endorsed the Bennett raid, saying he had full faith in Richardson and the Rabbitohs board.

“We have our business in hand at South Sydney,” Crowe said.

“Appointing Wayne Bennett was a unanimous decision by the board, the administration and the football staff.”

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