NEWS The Third Coming of Wayne Bennett

New CEO Duncan Donuts isn't ruling out the third coming of Wayne Bennett possibly as coaching director or culture boss. And the players are right behind him. Not only that but the Voice of Brisbane claims it can name more than 10 players who've told their managers they'd switch to Brisbane‘s second team if Bennett is coach. For now, it's keeping those names a big secret, but let's hear what these Broncos have to say:

Corey Oates

“If Wayne was to come back it’d be awesome. Everyone would think the same thing. Wayne’s name speaks for itself. I know it was tough when he left in 2018, but that’s not on us, it was with everyone upstairs. Personally, as a player, I get along well with him. I really enjoyed having him here and everything I learned from him.

“It’s just his experience, knowledge and history he has with the club. That’s what the Broncos have been missing. With ‘Kevvie’ the passion has come back. They’d be a great combination together.”

Still has it

Matt Lodge:

“He is still one of the best mentors in the game. He made me feel like I would run through a brick wall for him so he clearly does something right. I don’t know it would work with two people running the show, but I’ve always respected Wayne and he did a lot for me. The older I get, the more I appreciate what he did for me letting me come back to the game at the Broncos. I definitely felt the love when he was here, he stuck up for me a lot, whether that was media criticism or the off-field stuff I was going through."

“We definitely have that connection where I played for him and played hard for him. He would be a great person for some of the young guys we have here. I don’t know who runs the show or does what, but if Wayne came back to help Walters, I guess the Broncos have to put that business plan together.”

Tevita Pangai Jnr :

“I’m really close to Wayne. We still keep in contact, he has always been a great mentor for me. Kevvie is doing a great job here and he reminds me a lot of Wayne in the way he treats people. Kevvie is getting the best out of me. Even though some results haven‘t gone our way, he is holding me accountable.”

Payne Haas:

“Wayne brought me to the Broncos and he has been a massive influence on my career. My dad actually wanted me to go to Melbourne, I was about to sign on the dotted line, but I got a call from Wayne at the last minute and he brought me to the Broncos and I haven’t looked back since. If he came back, it would be pretty cool, I know several of the boys would love to have Wayne back around, but we‘ll see what happens.”

Tom Flegler:

“His resume speaks for itself. I haven’t heard a single thing about Bennett returning, I find out most things through the media (such as the articles penned by award winning senior sports writer Peter Badel), but it would be great to have him back. Look at what he has done. He is a great coach and I’d love to play under him.”

McHunt

 

[BroncsFan]

I think the Broncos intention was the right one, we had to transition from Bennett and in many ways we haven't achieved that yet. They got it wrong by the ham fisted way they went about it. Sending a letter for a start instead of a face to face meeting was just ridiculous.

Bennett to be fair to him has always said he wanted to be a head coach and trying to shoehorn him into a role he more than likely had no interest in was never going to work.

Wasn't the letter sent well after the fact though??

I thought Bennett was amicable about Broncos going after Bellamy and just wanted to be kept in the loop, and then when we missed out on Bellamy he put forward his case that the board give him a 1yr extension and as part of that he would transition to a spot in the football department whilst moving JD in as his successor, but at that point the board were already hell bent on getting Seibold.

From memory by the time it got around to the board offering him a position in the club as part of the football department the horse had already bolted and it appeared to be more like an empty gesture that they knew Bennett would reject, but allowed them to say "hey we tried, but he wanted to go"

 

[Wolfie]

Wasn't the letter sent well after the fact though??

I thought Bennett was amicable about Broncos going after Bellamy and just wanted to be kept in the loop, and then when we missed out on Bellamy he put forward his case that the board give him a 1yr extension and as part of that he would transition to a spot in the football department whilst moving JD in as his successor, but at that point the board were already hell bent on getting Seibold.

From memory by the time it got around to the board offering him a position in the club as part of the football department the horse had already bolted and it appeared to be more like an empty gesture that they knew Bennett would reject, but allowed them to say "hey we tried, but he wanted to go"

Not quite sure when this letter got sent, but yep, Bennett was all for us chasing Bellamy. I dont think at the time, and even now, Bennett wanted to be anything else but a head coach so i doubt he was staying here after his contract was up.

 

[Cult]

Needed to move on from White and the board well before we moved on from Bennett. They weren't good enough at their job to do it well and look how it went

 

[lynx000]

I dont see souths doing as well next year but i dont think it will be Waynes doing if they flop. He wanted to keep players they have let go, especially Reynolds but Souths as an organisation seem to be sticking to this policy of 1 year deals for older players. Be interesting to see what they do with Walker if they dont do so well.

Wayne seems to have a lot of faith in JD, and his record in the game as a head coach or coach is pretty good so its now or never for him really. I think if they can finish top 6 that will be a pretty good year for them in all honesty.

But apparently they aren't because they just signed Nicholls for two years.

 

[Scorchie]

Is Badel’s obsession pathological at this point ? Who hurt you, Pete?

 

[Foordy]

But apparently they aren't because they just signed Nicholls for two years.

hmmm, they were only prepared to offer a 1 year deal for one of the best halfbacks in the world, effectively allowing him to walk, but then break their policy for a bench prop.

if the Broncos did something like the fans would have burned Red Hill to the ground by now

 

[lynx000]

hmmm, they were only prepared to offer a 1 year deal for one of the best halfbacks in the world, effectively allowing him to walk, but then break their policy for a bench prop.

if the Broncos did something like the fans would have burned Red Hill to the ground by now

The other crunch is going to come next year when Walker is off contract as well. I bet he will want more than one year.

 

[Wolfie]

But apparently they aren't because they just signed Nicholls for two years.

Yep, i mentioned that last week i think, but i reckon thats more to do with him probably not being on a huge contract, which is probably a bit hypocritical of them. Their bigger earners they dont seem to want to do it with after what happened with Inglis and Burgess.

They should probably just say they are just trying to keep their cap in balance, which is probably a more accurate statement to make on their part. As much as people will want to blame Wayne for them losing players, its just a fact in football that you have to let players go and sometimes its ones you want to keep.

 

[Wolfie]

hmmm, they were only prepared to offer a 1 year deal for one of the best halfbacks in the world, effectively allowing him to walk, but then break their policy for a bench prop.

if the Broncos did something like the fans would have burned Red Hill to the ground by now

I think Nicholls has been excellent for them and has been starting a fair bit.

The other crunch is going to come next year when Walker is off contract as well. I bet he will want more than one year.

That will be interesting. I dont think it would be smart of them to lose Reynolds and Walker so quickly. They more than likely will have to adjust their roster management policy to a degree.

Or they could just be banking on a Milf revival

 

[Foordy]

Yep, i mentioned that last week i think, but i reckon thats more to do with him probably not being on a huge contract, which is probably a bit hypocritical of them. Their bigger earners they dont seem to want to do it with after what happened with Inglis and Burgess.

They should probably just say they are just trying to keep their cap in balance, which is probably a more accurate statement to make on their part. As much as people will want to blame Wayne for them losing players, its just a fact in football that you have to let players go and sometimes its ones you want to keep.

if it was a salary cap balancing act, then they need a reality check, because their priorities are wonky. if you can score a top halfback for 700k a season, you grab them and never let them go.

It might be different if ARey was asking for $1 million a season ... but they could have got him for 700k. which is fucking good value, even at his age.

they can free up 700k pretty easily since he was on a fair bit more than that anyway. you take his pay cut, you don't sign Milford and you allow Su'A to walk (which they did) and there is plenty to sign one of the top halfbacks in the game.

 

[lynx000]

I think Nicholls has been excellent for them and has been starting a fair bit.



That will be interesting. I dont think it would be smart of them to lose Reynolds and Walker so quickly. They more than likely will have to adjust their roster management policy to a degree.

Or they could just be banking on a Milf revival

JD gets milf, he will fix him

 

[lynx000]

if it was a salary cap balancing act, then they need a reality check, because their priorities are wonky. if you can score a top halfback for 700k a season, you grab them and never let them go.

It might be different if ARey was asking for $1 million a season ... but they could have got him for 700k. which is fucking good value, even at his age.

they can free up 700k pretty easily since he was on a fair bit more than that anyway. you take his pay cut, you don't sign Milford and you allow Su'A to walk (which they did) and there is plenty to sign one of the top halfbacks in the game.

And they are losing Gagai as well.

 

[Wolfie]

if it was a salary cap balancing act, then they need a reality check, because their priorities are wonky. if you can score a top halfback for 700k a season, you grab them and never let them go.

It might be different if ARey was asking for $1 million a season ... but they could have got him for 700k. which is fucking good value, even at his age.

they can free up 700k pretty easily since he was on a fair bit more than that anyway. you take his pay cut, you don't sign Milford and you allow Su'A to walk (which they did) and there is plenty to sign one of the top halfbacks in the game.

Who knows what their reasoning is behind it. Maybe they figure they can only afford one of Reynolds and Walker and JD prefers Walker. They only probably have Johnston, Paulo and Walker off contract next year who they would want to keep, so i'm guessing they probably have one eye on securing the likes of Mitchell, Koloamatangi and Taafe longer term.

Either that or they know something we dont about Arey!

 

[Wolfie]

And they are losing Gagai as well.

I cant think of who they have upgraded ( if anyone ) in the last 12 month. I recall them signing Murray i think for 4 years, and Tatola as well as signing Jai, but i cant really think of anyone else they may have upgraded recently. Cant say i know much about any promising players they might have got on good deals.

 

[Bull Shark]

if it was a salary cap balancing act, then they need a reality check, because their priorities are wonky. if you can score a top halfback for 700k a season, you grab them and never let them go.

It might be different if ARey was asking for $1 million a season ... but they could have got him for 700k. which is fucking good value, even at his age.

they can free up 700k pretty easily since he was on a fair bit more than that anyway. you take his pay cut, you don't sign Milford and you allow Su'A to walk (which they did) and there is plenty to sign one of the top halfbacks in the game.

I read somewhere that he only wanted 650 (along with the extra yrs) to stay at Souths..

 

[Morkel]

Pretty sure it has everything to do with Reynolds getting old and there is no guarantee he doesn't decline super fast. They're taking the Rooster's one-year-early tactic as opposed to the Broncos' two-years-too-many.

 

[Huge]

Today's Bennett vs Broncos article by Badel is about the letter sent to him by Karl Morris informing Bennett that management wanted him to remain at the club as part of an "elegant transition" into another role at the club.

it is this correspondence that Badel said started the civil war and was the driving force in the Bennett's quest to win a premiership with South Sydney on Sunday night.

now, i'm not a fan of Karl Morris, but in this instance he was right. not to mention that something like this isn't new to Wayne Bennett ... how many players has Wayne tapped on the shoulder over the years, telling them their time is up, starting with the King

That's just it though, his fucking time WASN'T up.
To me it would be like some twat coach tapping Lockyer on the shoulder at 28! Karl Morris was very definitely not right as WB has conclusively proved since the split I'm with WB on this. He and he alone decides when he's finished coaching, not some numptie neverwasbeen.

 

[Foordy]

That's just it though, his fucking time WASN'T up.
To me it would be like some twat coach tapping Lockyer on the shoulder at 28! Karl Morris was very definitely not right as WB has conclusively proved since the split I'm with WB on this. He and he alone decides when he's finished coaching, not some numptie neverwasbeen.

absolutely it was ... it was time for him to move on. we were heading in the wrong direction. it took a battle hardened team put together by other coaches to get him back to the GF