NRL 2024: South Sydney tables three-year, $2.5 million-plus deal to Wayne Bennett

Wayne Bennett is on track to become the first coach in Australian sport to call the shots at age 80, after South Sydney ramped up their pursuit of the super coach. See the full details of the deal.

Wayne Bennett. Picture: NRL Photos

• Bennett reveals Rabbitohs phone call

South Sydney are ready to ramp up their pursuit of Wayne Bennett by tabling a three-year, $2.5 million-plus deal to keep the master mentor coaching in the NRL approaching his 80th birthday.

Rabbitohs powerbrokers will kick off formal talks with Bennett after this weekend’s NRL round with a view to securing the Dolphins super coach until the end of 2027.

The Rabbitohs are assessing a number of coaching options in the wake of Jason Demetriou’s termination on Tuesday, but Bennett is their preferred candidate.

Souths chief executive Blake Solly has had a preliminary conversation with Bennett and talks will gather steam after the champion coach completes his Dolphins duties in Saturday night’s clash against the Cowboys in Townsville.

Bennett has not engaged a manager for negotiations. He is dealing directly with Souths officials, boosting confidence that a deal will be expedited and rubber-stamped within weeks.

Solly’s pursuit has the imprimatur of Rabbitohs co-owner Russell Crowe, who has not forgotten Bennett’s initial stint at Redfern from 2019-21 that finished with a grand-final appearance in his final season.

Will Wayne Bennett return to South Sydney? Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Now, with the Rabbitohs in crisis following the demise of Demetriou, Souths are primed to go back to the future by luring Bennett to the burrow.

Souths chiefs are open to another three-year term for Bennett, who turns 75 in January.

Despite his advancing years, Bennett’s competitive fire has not waned and a fresh three-year contract at Souths would ensure he coaches in the NRL beyond his 77th birthday in 2027.

The deal would make Bennett one of the oldest active coaches in world sport.

In 2022, Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa retired at age 77 after 33 years in America’s Major Baseball League and Bennett is on track to become the first coach in Australian sport to call the shots at age 80.

It is understood Bennett’s current contract at the Dolphins, which expires this season, is worth in excess of $800,000-a-season.

The Rabbitohs are willing to match his Dolphins deal to ensure Bennett is not short-changed at a time when the NRL’s greatest coach has also been linked with Parramatta, whose long-serving mentor Brad Arthur is under mounting pressure to perform.

The Dolphins have not given up hope of retaining Bennett, discussing a multi-faceted role that would see him usurp Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould as the most powerful club official in rugby league.

Redcliffe chiefs believe Bennett can operate in several roles, not only as a corporate ambassador, but overseeing the club’s development structures and working as a virtual coaching director for his successor, Kristian Woolf, next season.

Significantly, Bennett has handed executive decisions on the composition of the Dolphins roster to Woolf in a sign he is ready to pass the coaching baton to his right-hand man.

“Wayne has got a role with us on the table in a capacity where he is involved in all facets of the club,” Dolphins CEO Terry Reader told this masthead recently.

“At the end of the day, our intention is to have Wayne involved in the club moving forward, but Wayne will decide when he stops coaching and he will decide that towards the end of the year.

“That’s still our intention (for Bennett to be at the Dolphins in 2025) but it’s up to Wayne and when he is ready to decide what his role looks like.”

Bennett has privately told trusted associates there are some NRL clubs he would coach and some that don’t hold appeal.

The 74-year-old has no history with the Eels but it is understood the club was recently sounded out by a third party about their interest in entering the race to sign Bennett.

However, Parramatta chiefs are committed to Arthur and want to give him every chance to succeed before they consider heading in another direction.

They reinforced their stance at a board meeting this week after it emerged that Souths had approached Bennett about returning to their club.

If Parramatta wanted a shot at Bennett, they had to act. However, they made the decision to hold their ground and back Arthur to turn the club around.

Bennett relished the governance of the Rabbitohs, where he ran the football department without political interference, and that will be a key factor in whether he commits to a Redfern resurrection.

“Wayne had great success here, he left the club on very good terms,” Solly said.

“I know he wants to win premierships, and I know he loves the values of the club and what we stand for.

“I think he’s made that pretty clear during his time here; his affection for the club, the ownership, the board and the management.”

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys is keen for Bennett to potentially be involved with the NRL’s proposed 18th team. But with fresh expansion unlikely until 2027, Bennett won’t sit on his hands for two years, putting Souths in the box seat to strike now.

Bennett’s former skipper at Souths, halfback Adam Reynolds, is adamant the seven-time premiership winner is not a spent force.

Wayne Bennett is set to leave the Dolphins at the end of the year. Picture: NRL Photos

“Wayne can keep coaching because of his experience,” said Reynolds, now at the Broncos.

“He knows how to manage people. He knows how to get the best out of his players.

“Wayne demands you be the best version of yourself and if you do that, it translates to being a good player on the field.

“I’m not surprised he doesn’t want to retire. I would love to see him keep coaching for as long as he can.

“He is one of the icons of this game and to lose him would be devastating for the game.

“I would love him to stay involved in some way, whether that’s head coaching or in the background somewhere.

“He is too invaluable to be lost to this game.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: South Sydney tables three-year, $2.5 million-plus deal to Wayne Bennett