Wayne Bennett says NRL made right call to shift South Sydney’s clash with Dolphins from Brisbane rather than postpone

Plenty of people declared the NRL had put money ahead of people with its Cyclone Alfred call, but the game’s most senior coach doesn’t agree.

South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett says it was a “great decision” by the NRL to shift his team’s round 1 clash with the Dolphins from Brisbane to Sydney despite backlash as several players stayed in Queensland to be with families as Cyclone Alfred approaches.

He dismissed any suggestion the cumulative effects of the move to CommBank Stadium and the decision from five-eighth Kodi Nikorima, prop Mark Nicholls and 18th man Kenny Bromwich, who Bennett coached at the Dolphins last year, to withdraw from the game handed the Rabbitohs an advantage.

The Dolphins players left Brisbane on Wednesday night after the NRL’s decision to move the game, a call that was in contrast to the AFL, which scrapped both opening-round matches in Queensland, citing safety concerns.

But Bennett, a Queenslander who has returned to South Sydney after two seasons at the helm of the NRL’s newest club, was adamant league officials made the right call.

“If it had have been called off, you find fault with us. If we put it on, you find fault with us,” Bennett said of the criticism.

Souths coach Wayne Bennett is happy the Dolphins clash is going ahead. Picture: Scott Gardiner/Getty Images

“They have done the right thing. It’s important to everyone involved in the game, the fans, the TV stations … we go back there, they are playing our home game there later in the year. I think it was great decision.”

Bennett said his former players impacted by the oncoming cyclone would “handle it” but also said it was a “Dolphins issue” when questioned about the potential impact on them.

“They’ll handle it. They got on the plane yesterday and have 17 guys who are keen to play,” he said.

“They are a wonderful club, they will do their best with whoever they put on the field.

“I don’t see any advantage to anybody. It all equals itself out.”

He said the shift had had little impact on the Rabbitohs.

“It hasn’t really impacted our preparation because we didn’t have to get on the flight,” he said.

“The thing worrying me most was that it would be on, it would be off, players wouldn’t know where they stood. We got ourselves organised, the NRL came in and gave us more clarity. It hasn’t impacted on us.”

Originally published as Wayne Bennett says NRL made right call to shift South Sydney’s clash with Dolphins from Brisbane rather than postpone