By Phil Lutton
Wayne Bennett says he won’t plunder the playing talent of grand finalists South Sydney after he was officially unveiled on a four-year deal to lead the Dolphins into the NRL when they take the field in 2023.
Bennett’s pledge comes as the name of the club continues to cause division in the community. Moreton Bay Regional Council sent a letter to ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys after the Dolphins refused to add a geographical reference to their name, having dropped “Redcliffe” for the NRL side.
It has been a fait accompli since the club was given the new licence, but Bennett was officially confirmed as coach on Thursday. He will start immediately as he prepares to make his first pitches to players once the November 1 deadline passes and the club can court talent for its inaugural roster.
It had been suggested Bennett had a clause in his Rabbitohs contract preventing him from poaching players or staff when he left. Star playmaker Cody Walker would be one of those ripe for the picking when he becomes eligible to shop around for a 2023 home at the start of next month.
But Bennett said not only did he have no idea about any such clause, he wouldn’t care if it did exist. He said his history showed he didn’t raid the playing stocks of former clubs and that would be the case with the Rabbitohs, who lost to Penrith in this month’s grand final.
“I love you media guys because I didn’t even know I had that clause. I don’t care about the clause, it doesn’t interest me at all,” Bennett said.
Wayne Bennett has outlined the kind of players he wants to comprise the Dolphins’ inaugural NRL squad.Credit: Getty
“Go and have a look at all the players I’ve taken from clubs I’ve left. South Sydney, for example, Jaydn Su’A and Pat Mago were cast out by the Broncos. Darius Boyd followed me for a decade because the Broncos didn’t want him. I have no history of taking major players from any club.”
Bennett said he wasn’t looking over his shoulder at previous clubs, including the Broncos, but that doesn’t mean NRL teams shouldn’t be on alert as the Dolphins start to compile a list from the almost 160 players available for discussions in less than a fortnight.
Headliners like Cameron Munster are obvious targets but Bennett said laying a solid cultural foundation was foremost in his thoughts when assembling a squad to have a lasting legacy.
“Culture. Every time,” Bennett said when asked about his top priority. “The talent will come, we’ll grow the talent, we’ll find the talent. But who we are and what we stand for is important to me within clubs.”
The Dolphins were beaming as they rolled out Bennett at their Leagues Club. The same can’t be said for Moreton Bay Regional Council and its mayor Peter Flannery, who were fuming at the Dolphins’ intention to drop any reference to their location, although the Queensland Cup, lower grade and junior teams will remain as Redcliffe.
Dolphins Group chief executive Tony Murphy said the decision had been made and the team would be known only as “the Dolphins”, despite previous suggestions the final name, whether it be Redcliffe or Moreton Bay, would be put to a vote.
“We will push Moreton Bay every day of the week but we’re a national brand now,” Murphy said. “The Redcliffe Dolphins will always survive, they will play in the Queensland Cup. The Dolphins is a national brand, that’s the name we’re going to stay with. I’m sure we will have some more discussions with Moreton Bay Regional Council, we’ll get things worked out
“I’ve never seen Moreton Bay Regional Council on TV as much as I have in the past few days, so he’s achieved what he set out to do. Good on him.”
Flannery and his fellow councillors said they were ambushed by the name change, having felt assured that “Moreton Bay” would feature given the unanimous support for the NRL bid across all spectrums of local government and business leaders.
In the letter, seen by The Sydney Morning Herald, Flannery told V’landys he was in “despair” when told Moreton Bay would be missing from the Dolphins’ name given the support offered by the council, which includes an $8.4 million contribution to the stadium infrastructure and free rates on the club’s 11 hectare site and shopping centre.
“One week ago, I would have said the Dolphins had an unbreakable relationship with our community and the deep respect of all levels of government. So as the mayor of Moreton Bay Region, I hope you can appreciate my despair when the bid winner was announced and Moreton Bay was not included in their title,” Flannery wrote.
“Over the past week, there has not been a single business meeting or community event I’ve attended where this issue hasn’t been raised. My community feels strong about this, they feel betrayed and they worry ‘the Dolphins’ would be an anomaly in the league as the only side without a place name in the title.”
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