By Christian Nicolussi and Andrew Webster
Wayne Bennett is officially returning to South Sydney – and the supercoach is open to being reunited with Sam Burgess once the Rabbitohs great completes his Super League apprenticeship with Warrington.
Seven-time premiership winner Bennett was courted by Parramatta before he agreed to a three-year deal worth about $3 million, which includes performance bonuses that align with the club’s on-field results.
“It wasn’t a badly kept secret. I said all along I was going back to Souths,” Bennett told this masthead on Tuesday morning.
“I know where I stood for ages. I like that part of Sydney, I like Souths and the people there, the fans ... it’s a great club. Because you’ve already got relationships with people there in key positions, it makes it a lot easier.”
Interim coach Ben Hornby will remain in charge until the end of the season, and is a big part of Bennett’s plans.
Favourite son Burgess departed the club late last season after falling out with former coach Jason Demetriou over what he perceived as preferential treatment shown to Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker.
Wayne Bennett and Sam Burgess on the training pitch in 2020.Credit: Getty
The Englishman was signed by Warrington to become head coach until 2025, but has been negotiating an extension that would keep him at the Wire until the end of 2026. Burgess could then potentially spend 12 months under Bennett, whose contract runs to the end of 2027.
When asked about Burgess, Bennett said: “Sam is doing a great job at Warrington, and he needs that time and space over there to do that. We’ll see what the future holds. He’s a damn good person.”
As for Hornby staying on, Bennett added: “Absolutely, 100 per cent. We’re great friends.
“We won a premiership together [at St George Illawarra in 2010]. We’re on the same page about our thoughts on the game.
“He’s also strong enough to tell me when I’m out of order, and vice versa. I have a great relationship with him. He’s a very good coach.
“He’s not my opposition [this year]. He’s got the easiest coaching job in the NRL right now in the sense I’ll be there with him next year, he’s trying to hold the club together, [and] he’s doing a really good job, while waiting for the new coach to come in when the new season starts.”
Bennett said there would be no issues coaching the Dolphins for the remainder of the year before moving to a rival club, insisting it would be “an easy transition”.
The 74-year-old said after the win over the Wests Tigers on Sunday night he had no appetite to raid the Dolphins’ roster. “I didn’t set around building this club to try and destroy it,” Bennett said.
Souths moved quickly on Bennett after parting ways with Demetriou late last month. Bennett took the club to the preliminary finals in 2019 and 2020, before reaching the grand final in 2021, which they lost to Penrith.
Souths chairman Nick Pappas said in a statement: “On behalf of the board of the Rabbitohs, we look forward to welcoming Wayne back to the club, and to finishing off what we got so close to achieving in 2021.”
Bennett’s return to the cardinal and myrtle comes after a persistent, clandestine bid for his services by Parramatta officials as they prepared to move on from Brad Arthur as early as May 1.
The Rabbitohs made Bennett their overwhelming priority once his one-time successor Demetriou was sacked three weeks ago, only for the Eels to do the same behind closed doors.
Throughout negotiations, which included a visit to Bennett’s farm in Warwick and a lucrative offer to take charge at Parramatta, the 74-year-old coach maintained that his preference was to return to the Rabbitohs, a message that was conveyed to South Sydney CEO Blake Solly.
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