NRL 2024: Wayne Bennett shuts down Damien Cook rumours, Rabbitohs move, Dolphins slide
NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett has opened up on his involvement over Damien Cook’s exit from South Sydney, coaching two teams, and how to fix the refereeing crisis.
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Souths-bound Wayne Bennett has blasted speculation he ended Damien Cook’s career at the Rabbitohs and hit back at claims a coaching conflict-of-interest could derail the Dolphins’ historic finals bid.
As he prepares to face his future club Souths in Thursday night’s clash at Kayo Stadium, the current Dolphins coach also lashed the NRL bunker, calling for ARLC boss Peter V’landys to hold an end-of-season summit to address a spate of officiating problems.
“We are confused,” Bennett said.
“We’re having games decided by poor decisions.
“No wonder fans are angry and frustrated.”
In a wide-ranging interview with this masthead, Bennett also outlined the challenge ahead for Queensland in the Origin decider, saying NSW superstar Latrell Mitchell, if fit, will be almost unstoppable at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday week.
COOKED AT SOUTHS
In May, Bennett signed a three-year deal to return to South Sydney in 2025 when his contract with the Dolphins expires at season’s end.
Five weeks later, star Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook dropped a bombshell by inking a two-year, $1 million deal with the Dragons.
The 198-game Rabbitohs stalwart spoke of his heartbreak at his impending departure from a club he never wanted to leave.
Speculation was rife that Bennett, with one eye on Souths’ roster ahead of his 2025 arrival, played a role in pulling the trigger on Cook, whom he coached in his first stint at Redfern from 2019-21.
But the supercoach scuppered suggestions Cook, just turned 33, was surplus to his plans and privately instructed him to find another club.
“No, it wasn’t me,” said when asked if he forced Cook out of Souths.
“It was a South Sydney decision.
“Look, Damien is a great guy. He is a wonderful player, but South Sydney have a salary cap problem and that’s what they are trying to solve.
“It (releasing Cook) is not of my doing that part of it, but with the salary cap ... Souths are trying to free up money to get players in certain positions and it’s as simple as that.
“I think the world of Damien. He knows that.
“Everyone thinks the world of Damien at South Sydney. The final call was made because they have a cap issue and that’s what the salary cap was designed for.
“Unfortunately, every club loses players. That’s the way it works.”
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Souths officially confirmed Bennett’s signing on May 21.
Since then, Bennett’s Dolphins have lost four of five matches. They have dropped out of the top four and are in danger of slipping out of the top eight if their run of losses continues.
The Dolphins’ form slide has shone a spotlight on Bennett and whether his job at the Dolphins is being compromised by any future planning at South Sydney.
Bennett’s worlds will collide on Thursday night when the Rabbitohs travel to Redcliffe, but the seven-time premiership-winner is offended by suggestions he isn’t totally committed to the Dolphins.
“It’s bullshit,” Bennett fired of the conflict-of-interest allegations.
“I will say this – just look back at my history.
“Is there a track record (of Bennett performing) or not?
“I have left five clubs and none of them have ever suffered when I have accepted a job somewhere else.
“I have left clubs in the middle of the season, in the beginning of the season.
“I left Canberra in the middle of the season to join the Broncos way back in 1987 and we went on to play in a grand final.
“I told Canberra I was leaving midway through. That was the first one. Then there was the Broncos (2008), then the Dragons (2011) and then Newcastle (2014).
“The Newcastle decision ... people wanted to do a job on me then.
“The critics said, ‘Stuff him, Bennett should be gone now. But after I made my decision, we won eight of our last 11 games. We beat the Storm, the Roosters, we beat the big guns.”
Bennett says Dolphins bosses have no issue and have supported his assistant Kristian Woolf, who will formally succeed him next season, being more hands-on this year.
“I haven’t lied to people and tried to cover things up. In my first stint at South Sydney, everyone knew I was leaving, but we went on to make the grand final,” he said.
“When the Broncos sacked me in my second time at the club (in 2018), we still made the finals that year.
“Even this year with the Dolphins, Kristian has taken more ownership to prepare him for next season. Kristian is doing the recruiting and all that, he is making decisions on the Dolphins for 2025.
“I’m the coach for this year, then he will take over. And that’s the way it should be.
“Players do it all the time. They sign somewhere else mid-season, but we’re professionals, we get the job done and leave happy.
“I have always been upfront and told clubs well ahead of when I was leaving so they can get on with their lives.”
CRISIS TALKS
Bennett believes the code needs an end-of-year summit to fix a number of issues in the code, chiefly the bunker.
“I think we need an end of the season discussion,” he said.
“I’m sure the game will do something like that, or at least I hope they do.
“We need to sit down and have a sensible conversation about everything that’s going on.”
There has been a push for the code to scrap the six-again rule, but Bennett says the NRL has a bigger migraine with technology and a bunker he fears has become overzealous.
“They have got it okay with six-agains,” he said.
“It was over the top when it first came in, but they have found a better balance now. There are some penalties now instead of six-agains, so I can live with that.
“But anything that puts the ref under unnecessary pressure should go.
“Let’s think about this – how complex has refereeing got?
“The refs have all sorts of voices in their heads. The bunker was supposed to solve all our problems but the bunker has made everything worse.
“We have added so many new rules and interpretations.
“It’s a nightmare for the refs to get a game under control. Look back to the games in the 80s and 90s, we didn’t have all the bunker bulls*** that we have today.
“The fans are confused. We are confused. There’s billions of dollars in this game and we’re having games decided by poor decisions.”
STOP THE BRAWLS
Bennett urged V’landys to crack down on melees in the NRL.
Two melees erupted in State of Origin II and Bennett says tensions would have been defused if NSW and Queensland stars were sin-binned immediately.
The Dolphins coach was also livid at Storm hooker Bronson Garlick escaping punishment a fortnight ago at Suncorp Stadium despite rushing in as third-man to attack Tevita Pangai Jr.
“I can’t cop melees in the game,” he said.
“If there is a melee, then use the sin bin only for that and professional fouls.
“Bronson Garlick came third-man-in the other week after Tevita was penalised and nothing happened to him. I sent that through to the referees boss and he agreed Bronson should have gone to the sin bin.
“In Origin the other week, there was a melee and the ref (Ashley Klein) threatens them all. No more than three minutes later, he has another melee on his hands, so then he sends them to the bin.
“That’s what he should have done the first time.
“Moving forward, there should be no warnings, you are just on the way to the bin. Then you won’t have melees in the game anymore.
“That will keep them out of fighting and out of professional fouls.
“There shouldn’t be any warnings or hesitation. Get them off.”
LETHAL LATRELL
Bennett will face Souths this week but one Rabbitoh he won’t confront is champion fullback Mitchell, who will miss the clash due to NSW Origin commitments should he be fit to play.
Instead, Mitchell will be unleashed on Queensland the following week at Suncorp Stadium and Bennett concedes the Maroons have a nightmare assignment trying to contain the in-form Blues ace.
“It is a difficult assignment marking Latrell ... that’s a decision for Billy Slater (Queensland coach),” said Bennett, who had four stints as Maroons mentor.
“The great players of our game, you just know they will probably do some damage at some stage, but it’s trying to minimise that damage.
“You don’t want Latrell getting five or six line breaks.
“If Latrell gets one, you know you have done a great job on him.
“These great players are great for a reason. Latrell has a hell of a lot of ability.
“They are stoppable, you might stop them five out of six times but you won’t get Latrell every time.”
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