NEWS Wayne Bennett hits Brisbane Broncos with $400k claim

[Foordy]

So what are the Broncos going to do if Bennett gets Moose to back him up about Seibold sanctioning his move away from Brisbane before he was contracted to coach us? Wont that smack of hypocrisy?

We should have just paid him out from the very start or stuck by him.

That wouldn't really have a basis in this particular law suit.

If that happened it would be a valid reason for Souths to terminate Seibold's contact without a pay out (not that there has been a suggestion he received one anyway)

This case will be fought in a court of law ... Not a court of morals ... And hypocrisy is not a legal argument

 

[Morkel]

So what are the Broncos going to do if Bennett gets Moose to back him up about Seibold sanctioning his move away from Brisbane before he was contracted to coach us? Wont that smack of hypocrisy?

We should have just paid him out from the very start or stuck by him.

It will be hypocritical, but it's down to the law now. Unless Bennett's contract similarly stated that the Broncos must not engage with any other coach while Bennett is still contracted, it means nothing.

That's the irony here. It's fair game for the Broncos to collude with Souths to swap coaches, while both are still under contract. To the point of discussing which assistants and support staff would go where. All before the swap was signed off on. But Bennett does the same, suspecting the immediate move is inevitable, and he's the one that gets his contract torn up.

 

[lynx000]

So what are the Broncos going to do if Bennett gets Moose to back him up about Seibold sanctioning his move away from Brisbane before he was contracted to coach us? Wont that smack of hypocrisy?

We should have just paid him out from the very start or stuck by him.

According to the story in the CM this morning, Bennett was consulted about Moose in any event.

 

[McHunt]

It's not up to us to judge Bennett or the Broncos. If the Broncos owe him money as per a legal contract, let the courts figure it out.

 

[Gaz]

Give him 200 let Rabbits give him 200 and he'll never have to darken our doorway again. Wished he'd taken the office job.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

For all those commenting that Bennett should get every cent, that could be a bit of a moot point.

Bennett hasn’t denied working with the Rabbits regarding the 2019 season (changing their preseason training program, informing players where they’ll be playing during the season, informing players they can look elsewhere (Jennings)) whilst still contracted at the Broncos for that very same season.

This is a very different situation to Bennett working with the English (or QLD, Australia or NZ) team for two reasons: the Broncos gave their blessing for him to work with the English team, and; the Broncos don’t play against the English team, they are not direct competitors.

If this is all true, which again Bennett has never denied, then that is not only a breach of his contract from which immediate termination would most likely be warranted, but also grounds for the Broncos to seek legal advice regarding action against Bennett.

Whether people think it’s ‘fair’ or not is irrelevant. Contracts are legal documents and if one party really wants to get into litigation with the other over the terms of the contract, things can get very expensive, very messy and very quickly.

There are some fantastic contract lawyers out there that will latch on to, and win a litigation, based on only a few words of a 100 page contract.

Except he has denied it.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

It will be hypocritical, but it's down to the law now. Unless Bennett's contract similarly stated that the Broncos must not engage with any other coach while Bennett is still contracted, it means nothing.

That's the irony here. It's fair game for the Broncos to collude with Souths to swap coaches, while both are still under contract. To the point of discussing which assistants and support staff would go where. All before the swap was signed off on. But Bennett does the same, suspecting the immediate move is inevitable, and he's the one that gets his contract torn up.

Let's draw it all back to a single plot point in the history of all of this.

The 3min meeting between bennett and the board member.

The swap deal was in negotiations, all parties knowing it was the best point of action. Both clubs and both coaches were wanting it to happen.

While the details were still being ironed out, the meeting happened. What happened in this meeting is the key, we don't know the premise but it can be easily determined that this was the point bennett went rogue. Being it was a 3 minute meeting means it very quickly didn't go to plan.

Bennett calls the press conference without the club's knowledge or position. Clear moment of defiance and to make the club look stupid as they'd already scheduled the press conference for the afternoon.

That was the last straw. The club were doing their best not to hurt his legacy despite his efforts to be a toddler.

They were given no choice, it's what he wanted, but now he's trying to bend them over and take every last chance to bring the club down.

Glad he's gone.

 

[Morkel]

Let's draw it all back to a single plot point in the history of all of this.

The 3min meeting between bennett and the board member.

The swap deal was in negotiations, all parties knowing it was the best point of action. Both clubs and both coaches were wanting it to happen.

While the details were still being ironed out, the meeting happened. What happened in this meeting is the key, we don't know the premise but it can be easily determined that this was the point bennett went rogue. Being it was a 3 minute meeting means it very quickly didn't go to plan.

Bennett calls the press conference without the club's knowledge or position. Clear moment of defiance and to make the club look stupid as they'd already scheduled the press conference for the afternoon.

That was the last straw. The club were doing their best not to hurt his legacy despite his efforts to be a toddler.

They were given no choice, it's what he wanted, but now he's trying to bend them over and take every last chance to bring the club down.

Glad he's gone.

That's certainly one point of view.

The other is that he never actually wanted to go. And certainly did not want to be the one to quit. That, yes, the swap was seen as an inevitability to all involved, but in that meeting, they asked Bennett one more time what he wanted to do.

He was in his rights to stay. So that's what he chose.

 

[broncos4life]

So why do we assume that just because Bennett says he is taking legal action that he will win and/or the Broncos did the wrong thing? There is just as much chance that they show his breaches and it is thrown out. Being Bennett, there is an equal chance that he actually has no plans to do this and his just talking shit to try and get back at the club and the media, it seems to be his hobby.

 

[Morkel]

So why do we assume that just because Bennett says he is taking legal action that he will win and/or the Broncos did the wrong thing? There is just as much chance that they show his breaches and it is thrown out. Being Bennett, there is an equal chance that he actually has no plans to do this and his just talking shit to try and get back at the club and the media, it seems to be his hobby.

I don't think anyone assumed he was going to win. Just that he is in his rights to pursue it.

 

[Eta Carinae]

Who gives a shit what the actual figures are?

If he is owed a dollar, I hope he gets it. I don't care if he's a billionaire already, if his employer promised him a salary, and sacked him unfairly (the courts will decide), then I hope he gets every single cent owed.

Agree to disagree we will. The club is not a charitable venture, they're a for profit commercial entity and when they sign employees, I expect them to honour their legal commitments. Even if he was on a 6 million a year salary, and they short changed him 10k, I'd encourage him to go after it. Business is business.

When he got sacked the club said the terms of the termination are "confidential", so if Bennett takes that to court it'll all have to be public. I'm sure Bennett would have a top class legal team and if he's challenging News LTD in court, he'd have to have a pretty strong case because their legal funds are practically unlimited. More than likely, they'd just settle out of court anyway. If he can nab a few hundred K from News LTD, power to him.

Remind me to never, ever work for you. It doesn't matter if he's paid $1million a minute. If the law states he is entitled for another $5.00. He should be handed it.

Imagine a world where you ask for your holiday pay, and being told "Nah, you have been paid a really good wage all year, you don't need your legal entitlements, don't be greedy"

Obviously legally speaking (at least I guess so. I'm have zero legal training) it doesn't make a difference if he is on $5.00 or 5mil. The point is, the club has done a lot for him and made him very rich. (I know it goes both ways.) I just feel he should have left it as is and not caused still more bad blood given the fact he is already getting 300k from the club while working for a rival.

At the end of the day, for the club and for Bennett, another 400k on top of the 1mil+ per-year he has been on for quite a while isn't going to make a lot of difference. Just seems spiteful. IMO the club did it's part to bury the issue by agreeing to pay him 300k but Bennett just doesn't want to let it go.

And of course it probably won't even be 400k either way. The lawyers will take at least 20-30% of any settlement, which is how it will likely end.

 

[Eta Carinae]

Honestly, I don't see this as a Broncos Vs Bennett thing. This is just legal bullshit between lawyers, I don't really care who wins or loses so to speak, but I'd certainly back the little guy over a scumbag employer who somehow operate at a "loss" to avoid paying a single dollar of tax while being a cancer on this country in general. At least if Bennett gets a pay out some of that will be taxed and the community wins.

I would love for nothing more than for the shit bags at News LTD to relinquish ownership, as much as I love the Broncos, I abhor News LTD.

Agree completely but Bennett is far from "a little guy".

 

[broncos4life]

Not surprising this development.

I always thought it was a piss weak reason the Broncos gave for sacking him.

If they are actively brokering for a coaching swap they can't possibly expect the coach in question to not have any contact with their incoming club.

That has no basis in reality at all.

Based on that logic, Bennett would have been sacked years ago when he helped convince Andrew Johns to stay at Newcastle and reject that massive offer from Rugby Union.

It's certainly not how Rugby League works.

Imagine if Cooper Cronk called Bennett and said he wanted to play for the Broncos. Based on this logic Bennett is supposed to say "Sorry mate, not interested. You work for a competitor."

Please. It's bullshit.

That being said, contract law is different to corporate law which is different to criminal law.

I think Broncos management should have just paid him out. They should've had some integrity behind their intentions and held firm in their belief that Bennett is not the future and we are going in a new direction.

Cop the PR nightmare over sacking the game's greatest ever coach.

Don't white ant him, then complain he's doing the same to you and then find a weak as piss reason to get rid of him so you can look innocent.

I expect them to settle out of court. I hope it's true because a legal battle is not what we need and Seibold deserves some clear air.

With the stupidity of broncos management though...

That is literally the opposite of what everyone is talking about. If he was doing that for his employer, no dramas. If he is doing that for another team, dramas. It's pretty simple.

 

[Nashy]

That is literally the opposite of what everyone is talking about. If he was doing that for his employer, no dramas. If he is doing that for another team, dramas. It's pretty simple.

This. The post you've quoted has missed the mark by such a long shot, I'm convinced no reading had been completed prior to spilling the dribble.

 

[CaptainHook]

So why do we assume that just because Bennett says he is taking legal action that he will win and/or the Broncos did the wrong thing? There is just as much chance that they show his breaches and it is thrown out. Being Bennett, there is an equal chance that he actually has no plans to do this and his just talking shit to try and get back at the club and the media, it seems to be his hobby.

I'm not assuming Bennett will win at all.

I hope sanity prevails and both parties agree to a settlement. Even if they believe they are in the right.

I'm no lawyer. I'm just trying to look at it logically. All Bennett would really have to do is provide evidence that the broncos were pursuing a coaching swap for 2019.

I can't see how this notion that if you're going to be joining a new club in a few days but on the other hand you can't talk or communicate to any of their personnel to be laughable.

That's pretty much game, set and match. I'm going to disregard what both parties said publicly. The broncos were talking out their arse just as much as Bennett was.

 

[Nashy]

I'm not assuming Bennett will win at all.

I hope sanity prevails and both parties agree to a settlement. Even if they believe they are in the right.

I'm no lawyer. I'm just trying to look at it logically. All Bennett would really have to do is provide evidence that the broncos were pursuing a coaching swap for 2019.

I can't see how this notion that if you're going to be joining a new club in a few days but on the other hand you can't talk or communicate to any of their personnel to be laughable.

That's pretty much game, set and match. I'm going to disregard what both parties said publicly. The broncos were talking out their arse just as much as Bennett was.

The Broncos need to suck it up and just pay it. It's stupid to drag both teams through the mud over it.

Are you actually suggesting that it's ok for a coach to do work for another team before he's stopped coaching his current team? If so, that's just stupid.

 

[Huge]

I was among his harshest critics and copped a lot of vitriol for it. Now I feel vindicated.

Right, of course you do. You feel vindicated because an employeee who was sacked and lied about wants compensation.

 

[pagey]

Now can we all openly hate this lying piece of shit? Complete fucking knob. It's always been about the money and I hope that he has burnt every possible bridge and is never allowed back anywhere near the Broncos.

Did the old man do a number on your dog or something ?