Wayne Bennett confirms ARLC approach to spearhead PNG’s NRL franchise

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett’s future at the club is under the microscope after being approached by the ARL Commission to spearhead Papua New Guinea’s $600 million entry to the NRL.

Wayne Bennett is weighing up his future at South Sydney after being approached by the ARL Commission to spearhead Papua New Guinea’s $600 million entry to the NRL.

This masthead can reveal the ARL Commission wants Bennett to play a prominent role in the set-up of PNG after holding talks with the super coach to ensure the NRL’s 19th team is primed for premiership entry in 2028.

The development came on a historic day for the code, with ARLC boss Peter V’landys meeting with PNG Prime Minister James Marape to unveil the new franchise’s seven-person board chaired by former Bulldogs supremo Ray Dib.

Bennett is contracted to South Sydney until the end of 2027. Rabbitohs bosses will hold talks with the 75-year-old at season’s end amid fears he could be poached by PNG.

The ARL Commission views Bennett as an expansion specialist, with the NRL Hall of Famer named foundation coach of the Broncos in 1988 before heading-up the Dolphins for their premiership debut in 2023.

The ARLC has not identified a specific role for Bennett, but he is currently a free agent for the 2028 season and they have sounded him out to ensure the swift success of the NRL’s bold Pacific expansion project.

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett confirmed the ARLC approach.

Bennett confirmed the ARL Commission’s approach to him on PNG, but says he is happy at South Sydney and in no rush to make his next move.

“Yes, we’ve talked about it (the PNG team),” Bennett said on Tuesday.

“We’ll just see where I am in a couple of years.

“I will see where I’m at and where PNG is at.

“I’ve got to sort myself out.

“I have great respect for Peter V’landys and I’ll help the game out if I can, but I’m not going to do anything right now.

“I’m still contracted for a few years here at Souths, so I’ve got to do my time here and we’ll see what happens.”

Bennett is passionate about promulgating the growth of rugby league globally.

He has previously coached the English Test side, helped Steve Kearney with New Zealand and accepted V’landys’ request for him to take charge of the Dolphins to ensure Queensland’s fourth team had immediate gravitas.

It’s unlikely Bennett would move to Papua New Guinea on a full-time basis, but he could operate as a consultant to shape the 19th team’s culture, recruitment strategy and pathways programs.

V’landys said the seven-time premiership-winning coach could play a critical role in the success of a Papua New Guinea club bankrolled by Australia’s Federal Government.

“Wayne Bennett is a genius,” he said.

“He is one of the greatest minds we have in rugby league.

“He has always been the best of the best in these sort of areas (with expansion teams).

“He’s proven that with the Broncos and the Dolphins.

“He’s an extraordinary individual to say the least and he may not necessarily be the coach, but we hope he has some major involvement with PNG.

“We respect that Wayne is giving his best right now to the South Sydney Rabbitohs, but that’s not to say in the future, he can’t have some major role with a PNG team.”

An expansionist at heart, Bennett scoffed at suggestions Papua New Guinea won’t be successful, but said the success of the Pacific franchise hinged on building a robust grassroots-and-pathways bedrock.

ARLC chair Peter V'landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo in Las Vegas.

“I do believe it can work, I really do,” he said.

“Look, it’s not going to happen overnight.

“PNG has got a huge population and rugby league is the No.1 sport up there.

“The (Australian) government is behind it and there will be some political issues, but they’ve got to get the pathways right.

“PNG has had a team (the Hunters) in the Queensland state league for over a decade now. They’ve got a lot of young men playing in a top competition every week that will serve as a feeder club to the NRL team.

“I know what it takes to start up a new club, I did it with the Broncos and the Dolphins.

“They will be putting a lot of work and money into the pathways, so they’re on the right track.”

Ray Dib has been appointed as chairman of the PNG franchise.

Dib was unveiled as PNG’s first chair on Tuesday and will head-up a seven-person board that includes Melbourne Storm legend Marcus Bai.

The other board members are Lorna McPherson, Richard Pegum, Stan Joyce, Wapu Sonk and Ian Tarutia.

Australia’s Federal Government is investing $600m into the project over 10 years and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, Pat Conroy, boldly declared PNG will eventually dwarf Penrith as an NRL juggernaut.

“I want to assure the taxpayers the timeline is on track,” Conroy said.

“When we get this project delivered through the huge investment of all three parties, this will make Penrith look like the minnows of rugby league.

“They will be made to look like Sydney Roosters juniors.”

The next task is finalising a team name and PM Marape said the people of PNG will help determine a nickname.

There is a push for the PNG side to be named the Angels - a tribute to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels who saved Australian soldiers during World War II - and Marape said the logo is critical to shaping the team’s identity.

“We run a democratic country and the 11 million people of Papua New Guinea will help choose the name,” PNG MP James Marape said.

“It must not be just a name, but a motif behind the team and uniting Australian and PNG people forever.

“Find a name that resonates with our past and where we are going to the future.”