Pressure mounting on Brisbane Broncos to resolve Wayne Bennett coaching fiasco

Pressure is mounting on the Brisbane Broncos to come up with an immediate resolution to the club’s coaching fiasco surrounding Wayne Bennett and Anthony Seibold.

• ANSWERS: Johnston wants to know

• RETURN: D-Day approaches for Bennett

Pressure is mounting on the Brisbane Broncos to come up with an immediate resolution to the club’s coaching fiasco.

Chief executive Paul White either needs to reaffirm his stance that Wayne Bennett will be in charge in 2019, or get busy clearing the way for Anthony Seibold to start work next week, when the Broncos’ full squad returns for pre-season training.

Bennett is still overseas after coaching England to victory in the recent Test series against New Zealand and is not due back in Australia until next Wednesday.

It is understood Bennett will then be absent from training until December 3, aside from making the occasional appearance.

Bennett has long coached by the philosophy that the first stage of pre-season belongs to the conditioning staff to get the players as fit as possible before the ball is even entered into training sessions.

Will Bennett coach Brisbane in 2019? AAP Image/Glenn Hunt.

On the surface, this gives both Bennett and Brisbane more time to determine what the next move is going to be.

But what highlights how dysfunctional the situation has become is that Bennett also conceded this week that he had not spoken to either his chief executive or chairman Karl Morris since the club’s presentation night in early October.

Even when news broke that Josh McGuire had agreed to terms to play with North Queensland next season, cutting short his contract with the Broncos, it is understood Bennett was given no input in the decision, yet Seibold was.

Take it as read Bennett hasn’t taken what could be perceived as a lack of respect to heart.

But given the importance placed on pre-season preparations at every NRL club along with roster management, this just seems a ludicrous and unworkable situation moving forward for everyone involved.

While talk continues that there will be a coaching swap in the coming days, in Bennett’s mind he has given his commitment to Brisbane players to see out his contract next season.

Bennett will coach South Sydney from 2020 onwards. Picture by Annette Dew.

Some have criticised Bennett for holding the club to ransom but he is adamant in no way is that the case because it was the Broncos who made the call to chase a new coach when they first went after Craig Bellamy, which left Bennett with no option but to seek employment for 2020 and beyond.

Bennett maintains he will only leave Brisbane early if he is sacked and not once has he deviated from this stance.

But the problem for the Broncos is that while White has also stated Bennett would remain in 2019, Seibold showed his hand early this week when he stated that he wanted a decision made within 48 hours.

That deadline has long expired, but still there is no resolution in sight.

But what it showed was that Seibold is obviously being told by someone that the move is on the cards, even if no one wants to say so publicly.

There is still no resolution in sight.

So it is now up to White to pull the trigger, though the longer he holds off the more dangerous this game is getting.

It has been reported that some Rabbitohs players are disillusioned that Seibold’s choice was to be at a different club, whereas Brisbane players to a man are saying publicly that they hope Bennett sees out his final season.

Now Souths players are also saying they are looking forward to Bennett’s arrival.

From a coach whose career mid-season looked doomed, Bennett has once again emerged in a position of power.

Make no mistake, even if he is ultimately sacked, Bennett will be leaving on his terms.

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