Broncos coach Wayne Bennett safe for now but D-Day looms
BESIEGED Wayne Bennett has received a stay of execution after a Broncos board meeting failed to deliver a definitive call on the super coach.
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BESIEGED Wayne Bennett has received a stay of execution after a Broncos board meeting failed to deliver a definitive call on the super coach.
The Sunday Mail can reveal Broncos board members convened last Tuesday in their first meeting since Brisbane’s humiliating 48-18 season-ending loss to the Dragons in the opening week of the finals.
Bennett is keen for clarity on his future and Broncos CEO Paul White intimated last month club bosses would address the 68-year-old’s coaching position for 2020 at the end of this season.
But in the wake of the Dragons debacle that extended Brisbane’s premiership drought to 12 years, the Broncos board refused to pull the trigger on Bennett.
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It is understood the board meeting, touted as the gathering that would decide Bennett’s fate, lasted about 90 minutes. Bennett’s future was not on the agenda. Bennett traditionally attends to personally address the board but he was not at the latest meeting.
Brisbane’s next board meeting is slated for Tuesday, October 30.
Next month’s meeting is expected to be D-Day for Bennett, but club legend and board member Darren Lockyer insists there is “no rush” to decide whether Brisbane’s foundation coach is offered a contract extension.
“I don’t believe there is any hurry to give a definitive answer on what happens in 2020,” Lockyer said.
“We deferred this matter until the end of the season but the club’s position is that Wayne already has a contract for 2019.”
It was believed only a premiership victory this season could have secured one final coaching contract for Bennett in 2020.
Brisbane bosses are ready to jettison Bennett. Club chairman Karl Morris has offered Bennett another job – a “senior administrative position” – for 2020 and Brisbane’s finals fadeout has further eroded his bargaining power.
Lockyer admits Bennett would be stung by Brisbane’s latest failed campaign but hopes his former coach remains at Red Hill in 2019.
“Wayne is contracted next year and that won’t change in our (the board’s) eyes,” he said.
“Look, Wayne would be disappointed that their season ended the way it did, but it’s happened now. Wayne has been in this position before.
“In 2004-05 we bowed out of the finals, but with Wayne’s guidance, we bounced back to win the premiership in 2006.
“I’m sure it (Bennett’s future) will be up for discussion (at the next board meeting), but we’ll let the dust settle at the moment and hopefully he will be back for 2019.”
Bennett has been linked with the Dragons, the club he coached to the 2010 premiership, but insists he has not fielded a formal approach from the Red V.
Broncos skipper Darius Boyd believes Bennett deserves a new deal after steering the club to four consecutive finals appearances, declaring he has the support of the dressingroom.
“Through the tough times this year, Wayne bonded us together,” he said.
“The last two months of the season made us tighter and when the criticism was coming from outside, Wayne made sure we stuck solid and so did Paul White.
“Wayne is a mentor first and a footy coach second, he cares about the individual. Most of the other boys in the Broncos team would agree with me in the way he cares for his players.
“Wayne is very good at getting trust among the group, so I hope he stays on.”
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Originally published as Broncos coach Wayne Bennett safe for now but D-Day looms