NRL 2024: Wayne Bennett has unfinished business at the Rabbitohs

Wayne Bennett is 48 hours away from finalising his deal to return to the Rabbitohs with the super coach declaring he can reignite their superstar Latrell Mitchell.

Wayne Bennett is 48 hours away from signing a three-year deal with South Sydney with the super coach declaring he can rebuild the Rabbitohs and reignite superstar Latrell Mitchell.

This masthead can reveal Bennett will hold talks with Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly on Monday in what shapes as the seminal meeting that will officially seal his return to Redfern on a $3.1 million deal.

Bennett and Solly held a preliminary round of talks last Monday and if a second instalment of negotiations in Brisbane progresses well – as expected – the parties will shake hands to trigger a Redfern resurrection.

Bennett is keen for a second coming at South Sydney but wanted to avoid a formal announcement during Magic Round weekend to focus on his Dolphins side’s clash against Wests Tigers on Sunday.

But when the Magic Round carnival is complete, Bennett will advance talks with Solly and only an 11th-hour break down will prevent him inking a deal to coach Souths until the end of 2027.

Wayne Bennett says he is ready to get the best out of Latrell Mitchell. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Speaking exclusively with this masthead, the 74-year-old confirmed he is on the verge of committing to Souths, who have staved off rumoured interest from Sydney rivals Parramatta.

“We are very close to doing the deal,” Bennett said of a second term at Souths.

“We’re certainly heading in that direction.

“I want to sort out my future quickly and move on.

“We have a season to finish with the Dolphins and some commitments in front of us, I don’t want any distractions.

“I haven’t signed anything yet, but it will be done one way or the other this week.”

Bennett had a successful three-year tenure at Souths between 2019-21, winning 51 of 75 games for a superb 68 per cent success rate, headlined by taking the Rabbitohs to the 2021 grand final in his last game in charge.

The Rabbitohs were beaten by the Panthers in the Suncorp decider and Solly says there is a sense of unfinished business as Bennett chases his first premiership in 15 years after glory at the Dragons in 2010.

“We’re getting close to an agreement with Wayne and everyone is quite excited about bringing him back,” Solly said.

“Nothing has been agreed yet. In my book, nothing is done until we have Wayne’s signature, but hopefully we can do that this week.

“We have a lot of respect for what he and everyone associated with the Dolphins has done and we don’t want to do anything that distracts from the rest of their season and nor ours.

“Clearly Wayne did a wonderful job in his time at the club.

“He left on great terms with everyone at Souths and coming back he will provide a great deal of stability, work with people he knows and hopefully get us back to where we want to be on the field.”

IF THERE ENDS UP BEING A PROBLEM, ONE OF US WILL HAVE TO LEAVE

The Rabbitohs have slumped to last this season, leading to the recent sacking of Bennett’s successor and former assistant Jason Demetriou, who served a six-year apprenticeship under the master coach at Brisbane and Souths.

Demetriou was buffeted by persistent speculation that star Souths duo Mitchell and Cody Walker had too much say in the running of the club, a claim the sacked Souths coach has vigorously denied.

If anyone can fix any perceived dressing-room cracks, it is Bennett. The NRL’s greatest coach has handled the code’s biggest personalities, including Broncos and Queensland Origin legend Wally Lewis, and says he has no issue with Mitchell, nor South Sydney’s front office.

“Latrell was recruited when I was there and I have a lot of time for Latrell,” Bennett said.

“I will have no problems working with anybody at Souths, including Latrell.

“If there ends up being a problem, one of us will have to leave, but I don’t expect any issues.

“I’m not going back to Souths because I dislike anyone. I know the people there.

“I know what Souths have with their front office. I wouldn’t be going back if I didn’t leave on great terms.

“There’s probably some unfinished business when I left, we just made the grand final, but we had done the three years and they went their way and I went my way.

“I haven’t finalised yet what I’m doing, but wherever I go I will make the team the best I can. I am confident in that.

“Turning Souths around … it’s not just me, it’s the entire club. You need the chairman’s support, you need a good CEO and good people around you, and after that you can get things done.

“The Dolphins haven’t interfered at all and it’s been a great time here.

“That’s really important. Let me do my job and if I can’t do it, we’ll make other arrangements, but don’t interfere with me.”