Wayne Bennett confirmed as 2015 coach of Brisbane Broncos

[broncsgoat]

Whenever Bennett leaves a club, Manly wins the competition. '87, '08, '11.

Net wealth on manly then I guess

 

[CaptainHook]

But the people "in the know" are saying the boards have been meeting him and begging for him to come back since at least may, long before that game.

You may be right. I'm not "in the know" so can't really comment. I'm completely speculating and just looking at the way events unfolded. White has said multiple times that the target was a top 4 finish. That's too early to determine in May and we were going alright then. If we nail the Sharks game though (and the Panthers one), that's put us well in the top 4. It would have been pretty harsh terminating a coach's contract when running at least fourth. There's commentary in the media already that he's been dealt harshly considering we are sixth.

They may well have been in talks with Bennett that early. It's poor form if it's true though considering he was still under contract as well. It doesn't paint Bennett in the best light. The Sharks game was the clincher, I reckon. The powers that be saw how we capitulated, looked at our run home and probably though we wouldn't make it based on current form. Again, this is just me specualting after a few beers and not based on 'intel' that some of you have.

 

[Morkel]

'96 was just lucky I guess.

 

[CaptainHook]

It would actually be mid-late April that Joseph was wooing meeting with WB. I neglected to add that Bennett was keen to come home for his kid's sake. This kinda muddies the waters a bit if you think about it...

Now I'm starting to think along Porthoz's lines, just a little.. What if Bennett put a feeler out first and Joseph came running. It's a big what if, but the fact that he said that WB wanted to come 'home' for his family's health reasons - in what order did this happen.

Really, it doesn't matter, we will never know.

That kinda makes it even worse and implies that Griffin was gone regardless of results. It probably points to our poor 2013 season and not how we're traveling this year as the main reason for the change of coach.

As you said, we'll never know.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Well does a club and thus him leaving the competition count? On the plus side the following year they get beaten by the Knights in a competition they were pretty much certainities to win anyway so maybe it was worth it :laugh:

 

[1910]

I saw that on facebook this afternoon, too.

Ahhhh our stats guys gave it to me, I thought I was breaking new ground!

 

[Kimlo]

What's wrong with having the Dragons as his backup plan? WTF, I'd do exactly the same. When I apply for jobs I apply for multiple, even if I think I'm getting another job I'll still go to another interview if offered as a backup plan. That's just common sense, not some kind of unethical behaviour.

 

[Porthoz]

Very fair, and I'd like to congratulate you for keeping ethics so highly on the agenda in relation to the mighty Broncs. Most of us would agree that that is incredibly important to this fanbase.

I still don't agree with your line of events or that there has been any loss of honour, but I tip my hat at your good intentions, regardless.

Let's go Broncos!!

In all honesty, I think you got your info from one side and I got it from the other. Neither are contradictory, but they certainly portray a different perspective and perception from both sides, supporting my view that there was lack of transparency in how this was dealt with..

 

[Kaz]

I watched 360 with Ben Ikin & Paul Kent.

Ikin said WB didn't talk to anyone on Sunday about the coaching job. He also said that the 4 million mentioned isn't correct.

 

[Splinter]

I watched 360 with Ben Ikin & Paul Kent.

Ikin said WB didn't talk to anyone on Sunday about the coaching job. He also said that the 4 million mentioned isn't correct.

I don't think he said it wasn't right, he said the figure is yet to be agreed upon

 

[Kaz]

I don't think he said it wasn't right, he said the figure is yet to be agreed upon

Just re-watched it & you are correct.

But Ikin did say twice that WB didn't talk to anyone on the Sunday. uummmm

 

[broncos4life]

I don't think he said it wasn't right, he said the figure is yet to be agreed upon

Well if it hasn't been agreed upon, it's not right

 

[Morkel]

Here we go, now St George are "lucky" they didn't nab Bennett...

St George Illawarra Dragons dodge bullet by missing out on signing coach Wayne Bennett | News.com.au

ST GEORGE Illawarra may have dodged a bullet by Wayne Bennett’s decision to return to Brisbane, with statistics indicating the super coach would have struggled without a roster next season loaded with representative players.Bennett was being wooed by St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust despite clear signs that their coach for next season is already in charge.
Paul McGregor has declared he wants to be the long-term coach of the Dragons and The Daily Telegraph can reveal further statistical evidence that underlines his impact on the club in just eight weeks.


THE STATS
In eight matches since taking over from Steve Price, McGregor has injected consistency back into the Red V performances.
Ahead of this Sunday’s clash with the Wests Tigers, the Dragons sit two points off sixth position.
In every effort area of the football field that is valued by coaches, St George Illawarra have improved exponentially under McGregor.
Eight weeks ago, the Dragons were ranked among the bottom three teams on the majority of the key statistics that win football matches.
They now rank among the top four teams in the NRL: They are the most disciplined team, third for line breaks conceded, fourth for tries and points conceded.


Not since 2011, under Bennett, have Saints conceded less penalties. Discipline is paramount to success on the field and McGregor has instilled structure to the Dragons with an approach that challenges the players to take ownership of the result.
The key players at the club respect McGregor’s ability not to pull any punches. Dragons five-eighth Gareth Widdop is a huge fan.
He knows ‘Mary’ can be harsh, but fair.
And the gradual improvement in their performances is showing with every week.
Granted, the Dragons have taken on some meek opposition over the past month, which have included wins over a depleted Cronulla, out of sorts Gold Coast and Origin-hit Melbourne.
But previous Dragons sides would have lost these games.


THE ROSTER
When Bennett won his final premiership with Brisbane in 2006 he had 14 representative players at his disposal.
When he steered St George Illawarra to their first premiership as a joint venture, Bennett had 10 representative players in his side, including Mark Gasnier, Darius Boyd, Beau Scott and Dean Young.
If Bennett had joined the Dragons in 2015 he would have had just six current representative players.
Ironically, it’s the same number he has this year with Newcastle — and they’re running third last.


Next year with the Broncos, Bennett will have just five current representative players.
Alarmingly, only two clubs over the past decade have won the NRL premiership with an equal or lower number of representative players in their squad; the Wests Tigers in 2005 (two representative players) and Melbourne with five, in 2012.
He may answer to the name of super coach, but even Bennett would admit players make coaches.


SHOW ME THE MONEY
The NRL didn’t believe Wayne Bennett was worth $800,000 to stay at Newcastle, so why Brisbane think he’s worth $1 million, is anyone’s guess.
And unless the Dragons, who have previously been forced to seek advances of more than $2 million on their grant money from the NRL, have failed to tell their members or the NRL what’s under the mattress, how could they ever have afforded Bennett?
Private benefactors were behind the push for Bennett, who felt his profile would help recover the club’s bleeding bank balance.
Paul McGregor speaks with Benji Marshall during training.
Paul McGregor speaks with Benji Marshall during training. Source: News Corp Australia
Increased sponsorship from the power of Bennett would have certainly assisted the club’s ongoing issue of attracting a ready-supply of third-party agreements.
However, the Dragons are still paying Price, while they also upgraded McGregor’s contract when he took charge eight weeks ago.
The Dragons know that mooted coaches Tim Sheens, Neil Henry, Anthony Griffin or Mick Potter would eat into their budgets a lot more than McGregor.
It’s a decision they can’t afford to get wrong.

So many holes in that argument. Like how many of those players Bennett actually turned in to rep players. Butthurt idiot NSWkers.

 

[jarro65]

More motivation for Wayne to succeed here.

Love it

 

[Anonymous person]

So many holes in that argument. Like how many of those players Bennett actually turned in to rep players. Butthurt idiot NSWkers.

But how many of them would've been rep players anyway? most.

When Bennett won his final premiership with Brisbane in 2006 he had 14 representative players at his disposal.

When he steered St George Illawarra to their first premiership as a joint venture, Bennett had 10 representative players in his side, including Mark Gasnier, Darius Boyd, Beau Scott and Dean Young.

If Bennett had joined the Dragons in 2015 he would have had just six current representative players.
Ironically, it’s the same number he has this year with Newcastle — and they’re running third last.

Kinda backs up what some of us have been saying. Also funny that the Knights still have more current rep players than the Broncos yet we see the "they have a horrible roster no wonder he can't win with them" excuse trotted out all the time.

 

[rnabokov]

So the Mole tweets this morning: Will Big Willie follow uncle Wayne to the Broncos.

So the Broncos have become a retirement village?

 

[broncsgoat]

But how many of them would've been rep players anyway? most.

He will soon have more at his disposal when he magically transforms Hunt, Moose, McC, Milford etc into origin players...

oh wait.

 

[Super Freak]

He would provide more impact off the bench than a fair few of our current forwards...

If he comes very cheap and doesn't mind playing from the bench, I would be happy to have Mason here..