From Fiji to UK: How Rabbitohs landed Bennett

Wayne Bennett’s journey to South Sydney and, ultimately, his 10th NRL grand final in five different decades was sparked by three phone calls in an hour as former Rabbitohs football boss Shane Richardson was waiting with his wife in Sydney to board a plane for a much-needed holiday in Fiji.

“My wife still hasn’t forgiven Wayne for ruining that holiday,” said Richo, who did a good job of spoiling the break by splitting his head open and damaging his foot to the point it needed an operation. “It wasn’t a holiday, but it’s where we planted the seed for Wayne to come to Souths.”

The first call Richardson received was from manager Isaac Moses telling him Anthony Seibold was leaving the club early.

“Twenty minutes later [former Broncos chief executive] Shane Edwards called me from out of nowhere and asked me if Wayne was of interest,” Richardson said. “Twenty minutes later Wayne called me. It all happened in the space of an hour. Wayne was in England. I did my foot and put off an operation to go see him. He was with the English [national] side.”

Richardson flew to the UK and checked into a hotel on what he hoped was a secret mission. But he was sprung.

“The first person I bumped into was [New Zealand coach] Michael Maguire,” Richardson said. “The Kiwi team were there. We are good now, but it was a bit frosty because I’d sacked him. I was on my way to have lunch at a restaurant in Liverpool with Wayne and his partner, Dale. We agreed on the deal over a bite of pasta and I wanted Wayne there and then, but Wayne was not going to walk out on the Broncos even though they’d signed Seibold with a year to go on Wayne’s deal.”

Wayne Bennett and former Souths football boss Shane Richardson.Credit: Getty, Wolter Peeters

Bennett didn’t want to leave straight away because he feared the Broncos would sack his staff and, unless they were taken care of, he was staying put until they forced him out. That came a couple of days after a press conference in which he was expected to quit, but Bennett turned it into an attack on the Broncos. Bennett knew they were not being true to their word about taking care of his staff.

“I remember getting a text when I was in a park and it just said, ‘Well Richo, I’m on my way’,” Richardson said.

Bennett should have been an easy decision for the Rabbitohs, but some at the Broncos were speaking to Souths officials and undermining Bennett. The only person who really needed to be sold on Bennett was Souths co-owner Russell Crowe.

“Once Russell was on board it was always going to happen,” Richardson said.

Regardless of the result in the grand final, Bennett will be lauded by Souths for years to come. Roy Asotasi is regarded as the signing that made people take Souths seriously again after their return to the competition, Crowe gave them gravitas and stability, and Bennett’s legacy is turning so many of their players into men. “He has made the likes of [Adam] Reynolds, [Cody] Walker, [Damien] Cook and [Cameron] Murray into leaders – that’s his greatest achievement,” Richardson said.

Benji’s last chance

The true story behind how close Benji Marshall was to the end of his football career can finally be revealed. As Marshall prepares for his first grand final in 16 years, he would be experiencing an array of emotions. It is only his incredible determination that got him here.

“It looked like his career was over for sure,” agent Matt Desira said. “I approached every single club. I chased the Bulldogs really hard because his brother was there. It seemed like a good fit. We approached the Gold Coast ... everyone. Benji was ready to go to the Roosters for pretty much minimum wage as a Luke Keary back-up ... I remember telling Benji we need to draw up a media release to announce his retirement, but he asked for one more week.”

Marshall’s wife, Zoe, suggested that Marshall call Wayne Bennett and the rest is history. Souths won’t force Benji to quit after the decider. They have put money aside for him in case he decides to play on.

Payne barrier

We told you recently that Payne Haas had some problems with his management group that would likely hinder any contract renegotiations with the Broncos.

There were stories that he had signed a six-year deal, but that was not the case. The Broncos have a long-term deal ready for Haas, but he won’t look at it until he has his management situation sorted out. He is being mentored by Sonny Bill Williams and has his family supporting his every move. Now Haas is happy to go on the record.

“The only comment I will make is that I have told Chris Orr that he is no longer the person I want to manage me,” he said. “I have not signed any kind of deal keeping me at the club beyond my current deal.”

Payne Haas has been taking advice from Sonny Bill Williams.Credit: NRL Photos, Getty

The Broncos are watching on anxiously, as Haas feels significantly underpaid. And he is. Haas has been the club’s player of the year for the past three seasons but only earns about the average NRL salary. He was paid far less than Matt Lodge and less than Thomas Flegler. Orr did the Flegler deal, inspiring Haas to end their association.

The Broncos must come up with an entirely new deal for Haas, in the vicinity of $1million a year, and hope it’s not too late. There are a number of sporting teams watching this very carefully.

No Cam do

In the end, Cameron Ciraldo – not a 90-minute Zoom call – was what saved Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire.

Ciraldo did not want the Tigers job and certainly did not want to talk about it during the Panthers’ finals campaign. The Tigers say they didn’t approach him, but a third party did to gauge his interest.

Ciraldo is aware jobs could come up at the Cowboys, Dragons or the Bulldogs in the next year or so, and he is already on a good deal with the Panthers – the best of any assistant coach in the game.

Maguire clearly didn’t believe the talk about his sacking: he was still ringing his contacts at other clubs to talk about players during the time it looked like his time was up. He is also in regular contact with Jackson Hastings, who must succeed in 2022, as he is easily Maguire’s biggest off-season signing to date.

Tommy Turbo to cash in on one of the great seasons

With a Dally M Medal a distinct possibility to be added to the Wally Lewis Medal he won as the best player in this year’s Origin series, Tom Trbojevic is being fairly rewarded for his outstanding form.

Now there are plans being made for Trbojevic to take his on-field success into the corporate world as his sporting stocks hit levels that have him being compared to the game’s all-time greats.

The management company that looks after Trbojevic, SFX, is working on deals, trademarks and marketing plans to cash in on the Sea Eagles’ $1 million man.

“He is hugely marketable,” manager Paul Sutton said. “We now have a commercial manager in our company and he is dedicating plenty of time to Tommy and how we translate what he is doing on the field to some off-field deals. We have had interest from a number of companies and Tommy has the image and the superstar ability that makes him attractive.”

The plans have been kept from Trbojevic, as his management group wanted him to focus on football, but they are well advanced. A few weeks back, former Manly and Kangaroos captain Max Krilich compared Trbojevic to Sea Eagles Immortal Bob Fulton. It was a view supported by Manly legend Paul Vautin during the week.

Highlighting the kind of person he is, Trbojevic asked the club to fine him for his night out that ended in the Manly Corso dash – believed to be $20,000 – and he volunteered to do extra work with Manly’s juniors.

“It wasn’t an ideal way to start the year and I decided to make a few changes to my life,” Trbojevic said. “They were worthwhile and not much of a sacrifice.”

The man who held the party that ended with Trbojevic in trouble, Brad Parker, says Turbo Tom owes his form this season to him. “I expect him to thank me at any award he gets,” Parker laughed.

Battle for Pearce

James Maloney is proving to be a key figure in Catalans Dragons’ pursuit of Knights halfback Mitchell Pearce. Maloney and Pearce won a premiership together with the Roosters in 2013 and Maloney has been active in trying to bring Pearce to the south of France.

Pearce appears to be genuinely torn. He is contracted to the Knights for another season and at his best is still one of the finest halfbacks in the NRL. But there were moments when it looked as though his 309 top-grade games had taken their toll and a stint in the UK-based Super League could be the best outcome for all parties.

Maloney announced his retirement last month and is set to play for FC Lezignan in the domestic French competition once his Super League commitments with Catalans finish at the end of the season.

I tend to think Pearce will stay at the Knights, but Maloney does have a knack for winning the big ones.

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