Wayne Bennett joins Rabbitohs as coaching merry-go-round goes into spin
ON another sensational day on the NRL coaching merry-go-round, Wayne Bennett has officially signed on as South Sydney coach, leaving three remaining pawns to fall.
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WAYNE Bennett has officially signed on with South Sydney leaving Anthony Seibold on the verge of a move up north — while Michael Maguire will take over at Wests Tigers from Penrith-bound Ivan Cleary within days.
After another sensational day on the NRL coaching merry-go-round, Bennett said he was “honoured” to join the Rabbitohs from the 2020 season following Seibold’s decision to inform the Redfern-based club that the Broncos were his priority going forward.
Although both Bennett and Seibold have a year to run on their current contracts, the switch could be rushed now that the Brisbane super coach has signed with the Burrow.
Meanwhile, the Tigers have grown frustrated with waiting to see what Bennett would do and instead have gone full steam ahead to land Maguire as Cleary’s replacement.
The irony is Maguire was sacked by Souths at the end of 2017 because Seibold was viewed as the long-term answer.
Seibold’s decision to leave the club that gave him his start will no doubt anger many fans but getting the game’s most successful coach as his replacement will alleviate the pain. Maguire was in the running for the Broncos job but Seibold was always Brisbane’s preferred option after Craig Bellamy knocked them back to stay at Melbourne.
Some believe the entire interview process Brisbane had was only ever a charade to mask that an agreement with Seibold was done some time ago but kept under wraps so it didn’t cause either club unwanted headlines during the season.
Leeds-bound Dave Furner was caught up in the drama when it was speculated he was in line to take over from Seibold.
However Furner told The Daily Telegraph he never had any intention of pulling out of his Super League deal to stay at Souths.
There is a theory this was only ever a red herring planted by someone to try and force a decision from Seibold, which it ultimately did.
Seibold made no secret of the fact he was holding off extension negotiations at Souths until the season and in fairness to him he was well within his rights to explore his options given when he signed to initially replace Maguire it was basically a take-it-or-leave-it deal.
But after taking the Rabbitohs into the finals and winning the Dally M Coach of the Year award, his value skyrocketed.
And given he is a Queenslander who played lower grades at the Broncos he was never going to knock back Brisbane’s interest.
However, from a South Sydney perspective it is seen as a slap in the face to be judged second-best behind the Broncos.
But having a seven-time premiership winning coach join the game’s most successful
club almost makes this a win-win for both organisations.
Bennett himself has some history to make up with South Sydney after he knocked back the chance to coach the Rabbitohs before he signed with Newcastle in 2012.
Bennett told The Daily Telegraph earlier this year ahead of his 800th NRL game that he was basically a car park away from agreeing to coach Souths but changed his mind when he couldn’t find a spot outside of Shane Richardson’s house.
It is believed Souths owner Russell Crowe was extremely disappointed Bennett pulled out but that is not expected to cause any conflict at this point.
Bennett also has a very strong relationship with Sam Burgess through their association with the England team and it’s no secret the Burgess boys have plenty of pull at Redfern.
Bennett also could be exactly what the Rabbitohs need right now after a tumultuous end to the season.
There is a sense that the off-field discipline at Souths needs to be pulled into line and Bennett is arguably the best man-manager in the game.
He famously called out Sam Burgess for his onfield discipline when they were together with England and while many believed it ruffled the star forward the wrong way their friendship grew as a result.
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