South Sydney are preparing to offer Wayne Bennett a three-year deal as early as next week as the veteran coach weighs up a return to the Rabbitohs.
It comes as Parramatta held a scheduled board meeting on Wednesday night at which it was decided not to follow up on approaches from third parties allegedly acting on behalf of Bennett.
Sources with knowledge of the situation, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, told the Herald the Eels had been made aware that Bennett had interest in exploring the possibility of joining Parramatta if they moved on from coach Brad Arthur.
The Eels, however, won’t rush into a decision on Arthur’s future despite the Rabbitohs pushing hard for Bennett’s services after terminating the contract of Jason Demetriou on Tuesday.
Parramatta powerbrokers are conscious of the injury predicament that has hampered Arthur’s ability to get the best out of his football team, with Mitchell Moses’ long-term foot injury this week compounded by a knee injury to skipper Clint Gutherson. Eels chairman Sean McElduff declined to comment.
The Eels board want to give Arthur more time to prove he can dig the club out of the hole it currently finds itself in and won’t be pressured into a decision by South Sydney’s urgency to appoint a new coach.
The Rabbitohs are having internal discussions about Bennett’s return to the club and are willing to give him the three-year deal he has indicated he desires.
Sources told the Herald that the Rabbitohs board and owners have endorsed the pursuit of Bennett.
In his previous stint at South Sydney, former head of football Shane Richardson secured Bennett’s services knowing his assistant Jason Demetriou would take over after three seasons. The club made two preliminary finals and one grand final in those three seasons before he left the club.
Sources with knowledge of the situation said Bennett does not want to be restricted, as has been the case in his last two deals with South Sydney and the Dolphins, and wants a minimum three-year deal. The Rabbitohs are open to such a deal.
South Sydney have also shut down any chance of luring Bennett back to the club immediately in a bid to keep their faint finals hopes alive.
Bennett is the short-priced favourite to return for a second stint at Souths, with the club hopeful they can broker a deal in the next fortnight.
The Dolphins already have Bennett’s successor, Kristian Woolf, at the club, while an early exit for Bennett would allow him to start rebuilding the roster.
But Souths do not have the money in their $5.5m football department cap to accommodate Bennett this year – they just paid out $375,000 to Jason Demetriou – and are mindful not to undo all the hard work the Dolphins have done in establishing themselves in the top grade.
“We just won’t do it because we have too much respect for [chief executive] Terry Reader and the team at the Dolphins and what they’ve achieved the past few years – they’ve worked so hard to get to where they are now,” Souths chief executive Blake Solly said.
“We’re not that sort of club. We plan to sign a new coach, and we hope it is a matter of weeks rather than months … but it will be for next year.
“We’re more than happy with Ben and the coaching group we have for the remainder of this year.”
Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson welcomed the return of Bennett to the club’s arch rivals.
“It’s always good for the game to have Wayne coaching, the legend that he is, and I think it sounds like it’s already been done, doesn’t it? If Wayne says it’s, it’s done - I think that’s how it works,” Robinson said.
“I think they’ve rolled out the red carpet and said, ‘please say yes’, so I think if that’s the case then if Wayne wants it, and it was a great rivalry a few years ago. He’s the best coach that’s ever been, so it’s a pretty clear choice of his if he wants it.”
Replies
Will that shock and awe be BA being sacked? It would truly surprise me enough.
Shock = BA Extension
Awe = Length of Extension
When I was very young I asked my Dad if he could take me to watch the Thornetts play. This news today has had the same impact but I feel it is the end of an era or perhaps even the end of the Eels. Like others on here, I did not renew my seat this year because I knew what was coming. I feel that this is such a catastrophic mistake made by men who truly have no feel for the club that it really marks the end of the club. We have a Board of left wing dribblers worried about political correctness and social justice who have lost all insight into why they are actually there. I see some of the posts they make on business media sites and they truly are left wing dribblers who have now destroyed the club. Fitzgerald started the rot by leading the charge to get rid of reserve grade and under 23's beacause they cost too much. That ended decades of entrenched attachment to watching players come through the grades and it killed off a lot of passion. Now this decision to not appoint Bennett will truly destroy the club. No more for me. I am not putting myself through this crap any longer. I can't remember my kids birth dates but I can tell you who through what pass to who in the 1975 Wills Cup and most other games. I am finished with this group of self serving amateurs
In fact I have just thought of a perfect analogy. That terrible song (no...not Sweet Caroline) American Pie. Today is the day the music died....for most of us.
Totally embarrassing from the club, although no suprise, those imbeciles are balls deep in BA and they are too incompetant to get a deal with Wayne over theb line.
Just imagine using the excuse 'we want to give Brad more time'' hahahaha, what, 20 years?
This clubs a disgrace and beyond a joke
These clowns know that if a guy like Wayne comes in, he will see their incompetance and shake things up, meaning it might get a bit hot for them.
So its easier to stick with the yes man BA/parasite because its safer for them.
Just imagine turning down the chance to get Wayne after 11 years with BA and nothing to show, FMD.
This board is simply not acting in the best interests of the club, but sadly theres no competition for spots because of the way its set up.
I miss the Fitzy days, cant believe im saying it, but this board is spineless imbeciles with NFI.
Thank you my son
Hopefully this is all smoke and mirrors from the Parramatta management. But I think they are incompetent so maybe they genuinely aren't interested. If that's the case then I don't know what to say, they truely don't care about winning a comp if they don't want Bennett or any coaching change
Buzz stuck it to the board in the Daily Telegraph NRL podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0opRz27SD2c
About the 22 minute mark they are discussing Parra and moves (or lack thereof) on Bennett
Prepare for Wayne Bennet's Souths to pump us again with cricket scores....back to the good times
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