NRL news: Wayne Bennett rejects suggestions he had say in South Sydney’s signing of Lewis Dodd

Wayne Bennett is an odds-on favourite to replace sacked South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou next year, but the wily veteran denies he has had any say in who he might coach at the club.

Wayne Bennett after the win over the Tigers. Picture: NRL Photos

Wayne Bennett insists he had nothing to do with South Sydney’s controversial signing of Super League star Lewis Dodd and confirmed he will enter negotiations with the Rabbitohs next week ahead of his expected return to Redfern.

Bennett was in a jovial mood at Redcliffe on Friday morning during his weekly pre-game Dolphins press conference heading into Saturday’s clash with the Cowboys in Townsville.

Bennett is an odds-on favourite to replace sacked South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou next year and return to the Rabbitohs club he guided to the 2021 NRL grand final during a three-year stint.

Souths pulled the trigger on Demetriou’s tenure on Tuesday, bringing an end to a turbulent two-and-a-half year reign as Bennett’s successor at Redfern.

But at the same time, Rabbitohs officials were in England landing the signature of St Helens playmaker Dodd on a three-year deal, a peculiar signing given the club’s next coach has yet to be appointed.

Bennett has been accused of playing a role in the recruitment of Dodd, but insisted that wasn’t the case.

“I don’t know anything about him. I know nothing,” he said.

“Kristian (Woolf, Dolphins assistant coach) asked me about him the other day but I don’t know him.

Wayne Bennett has rejected suggestions that South Sydney are consulting him regarding recruitment. Picture: NRL Photos

“I don’t know anything about Dodd so how could I think anything about him? I have never seen him play.

“I had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t my decision. I also heard the CEO (Blake Solly) say it was the retention committee’s decision, which included the head coach at the time which was Jason.

“That’s fine. I have got no problems with what they have done. I just don’t know anything about the bloke.”

Bennett has spent the past three years guiding the Dolphins’ entry to the NRL as the game’s 17th club before he hands over the head coaching duties to Woolf at season’s end.

At 74, Bennett said he had no thoughts about retirement and was keen to continue coaching as he chases an eighth premiership and first since with the Dragons in 2010.

“I enjoy it. It gives me something to do. I don’t want to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs and bore myself to death,” he said.

“I don’t think about (retirement) so how could I be scared?

“If I didn’t think I had something to offer and I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t do it. That’s not the case with me.

“As I said I would rather be doing something and making a contribution. I care about the game enormously and its people.

“If I can go and help a club and make them better then that is what motivates me and drives me.”

The last-placed Rabbitohs are keen to secure Bennett’s signature quickly on a three-year deal so they can focus on salvaging something from a so far dreadful 2024 season.

The parties have apparently agreed to park talks until after the Cowboys-Dolphins game and Bennett said the uncertainty wouldn’t be a distraction for his current top eight team.

“We said we’d get our weekend of football away and talk next week,” Bennett said.

“I like their brand. I like them. I have got a good relationship with everybody there. It is an iconic club and I just like the vibe there. We are not talking until next week.

“I’m not in a rush. We will see where it goes. It could happen tomorrow. I just have to make sure I am comfortable with what I am doing and they are comfortable with me. We need to talk.

“I told the players what was going on because I knew it doesn’t work not talking. They have all come from other clubs here so they all understand. I want to get it out of the road as quickly as I can so we can all move on and there are no distractions.

“I can’t tell them anymore because I don’t know anymore. They will know when it happens, whether I am going or staying.

“My commitments finish here at the end of September. That is the business we are in. I’ll make sure there are no more distractions once the decision is made.”

Originally published as NRL news: Wayne Bennett rejects suggestions he had say in South Sydney’s signing of Lewis Dodd