NRL news: Wayne Bennett’s new coaching deal with Dolphins could run for three-four years
Wayne Bennett is poised to sign a rich deal with the Dolphins after ‘positive’ discussions, and don’t be surprised if the grand old man of rugby league is there for some time.
NRL
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Wayne Bennett will formally sign a $2 million-plus deal with the Dolphins next week with the super coach declaring he is “keen” to be the face of a new second Brisbane NRL franchise.
Breaking his silence on contract negotiations, Bennett met Dolphins officials on Friday at Redcliffe Leagues Club and confirmed he is on the verge of inking a deal to become the foundation coach of the NRL’s 17th team.
It is understood the parties discussed a three or four-year deal, with Bennett to reconvene with Dolphins trio Terry Reader, Bob Jones and Tony Murphy next week to finalise the contract.
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Bennett spoke to Dolphins chiefs about operating in a consultancy capacity during his “gap year” next season, before stepping into a full-time position as the second Brisbane team’s head coach from 2023.
With Bennett locked in as Dolphins coach, the 71-year-old is acutely aware of implementing the necessary building blocks to ensure the $70 million Redcliffe-backed organisation is a competitive NRL force from day one.
“Everything is heading in the right direction,” Bennett said.
“The talks were positive, I need to go back to them and finalise a few things.
“There are a few things we need to check up on at their end and my end.
“We aren’t too far apart. I’m not getting ahead of myself, but they are keen to have me and I’m keen to be there. I have the weekend to think about a few things.
“We will meet up again next week and hopefully I will put pen to paper.”
The foundation coach of the Broncos in 1988, Bennett guided Brisbane to a premiership after just four years on their way to six titles in a golden run between 1992-2006.
Now Bennett is tasked with creating another footballing system in Brisbane and the NRL’s greatest coach has firm ideas that will underpin the Dolphins’ rise to the big league.
While the Broncos will have a 35-year headstart on the Dolphins by the time Brisbane’s NRL rivalry is born in 2023, Bennett is adamant the 17th team will not be whipping boys.
“I am clear on how I want the club to look and the way we play our football,” he said.
The Dolphins will enter the NRL as arguably the richest club in the code.
Founded in 1947, the same year as Parramatta and Manly, the Redcliffe-backed operation is a financial powerhouse. With gross assets of $70 million across the Redcliffe business empire and more than $20m in cash reserves, the Dolphins will be as rich as the Broncos, Roosters, Melbourne, Souths and newly-minted NRL premiers Penrith.
Indeed, Bennett sees parallels between the Dolphins’ northern catchment and the monster footballing nursery that has turned the Panthers into a premiership juggernaut.
“The Dolphins are so similar to Penrith,” Bennett said.
“They have a great catchment, so we have to maximise the talent in the area and capitalise on the same type of nursery that the Panthers have.”
Bennett and ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys are mindful of the pressure for the Dolphins to succeed given rugby league’s tempestuous history with expansion.
The NRL’s most recent expansion team in 2007, the Titans, have gone bankrupt twice. The first time, they haemorraghed $30 million, prompting the NRL to briefly reclaim the licence before co-owners Darryl Kelly and Rebecca Frizelle were handed the Gold Coast licence in 2017.
In 1995, the Australian Rugby League introduced four new clubs — North Queensland, South Queensland, Auckland and the Western Reds. The Crushers and Reds were killed off as part of peace talks following the bitter Super League war. The Cowboys and Warriors have both gone bust and required bailout packages to survive.
V’landys says a major factor in the ARL Commission’s decision to opt for the affluent Dolphins is the knowledge they cannot afford another expansionary debacle.
“We took into account the history of expansion and the previous clubs that have fallen over,” he said. “It is very important that this new 17th team stands on its own two feet.
“There is no way as a game we are going to bail out a new team or prop anyone up.
“We have learnt from past mistakes. We will not allow the 17th team to be a financial burden on the game. The whole purpose of expansion is growth, not decline.
“We are very confident that Redcliffe will never need our help.
“They have given us a $10 million bank guarantee, the last thing we wanted was to go with a bid and it financially failed after 12 months or two years.
“That would have been expansion suicide.”
Queensland Origin coach and legendary Storm fullback Billy Slater backed the Dolphins decision, but says the code must be wary of playing depth.
“This is great for the game, Brisbane is a huge market so having a second team is going to be a great result for Queensland rugby league,” he said.
“The one concern is we will have to find another 30 players.
“The majority of players will be coming from other NRL teams so there are going to be two or three players from each team that will go to the new Dolphins franchise.
“We have made the decision for a 17th team and now the game has a responsibility to put the effort and energy into developing players.
“There’s no doubt Brisbane can handle another team both financially and population-wise.
“Redcliffe deserve it ... now they get their opportunity in the big league.”
Bennett believes there is an additional spin-off by having a second Brisbane team – the potential benefits for Queensland in the State of Origin arena.
Statistically, NSW enjoy four times the playing depth of the Maroons, but Bennett hopes to develop more Queensland-eligible talent via the Dolphins.
“Another Brisbane team will be great for the Queensland Origin team,” he said.
“It means there will be more opportunities for Queensland kids and we need more representation for the Maroons.
“It will give State of Origin more certainty as time goes on.
“We have so few players in the NRL who are eligible for Queensland, it’s around 22 per cent, so we need the Maroons to stay competitive in the Origin arena.”
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