Wayne Bennett-Anthony Seibold swap finally confirmed
Travis Meyn, The Courier-Mail
Wayne Bennett has been sacked by the Broncos, with his replacement Anthony Seibold to hold his first Brisbane training session on Monday morning.
Bennett will not be paid out for the remaining year of his coaching contract.
He will be replaced by South Sydney coach Seibold at the Broncos for the 2019 season while Bennett heads to the Rabbitohs.
“The Brisbane Broncos board has terminated coach Wayne Bennett’s contract with immediate effect,” the Broncos said in a statement.
“The terms of this termination are confidential. The Broncos thank him for his contribution to the club and wish him all the best in the future."
“An announcement about the club’s coach for the 2019 season will be made soon.
The Broncos would like to thank members, sponsors, corporate partners, players and staff for their patience and understanding through this period of transition.”
After 25 seasons at the helm of the Red Hill franchise, Bennett’s tenure is finally over following a bitter split with Broncos powerbrokers.
Last Friday, Bennett shocked the NRL after declaring he was
ready to dig in and serve out the final year of his contract despite being heavily linked with an immediate move to South Sydney.
The Broncos were reluctant to sack Bennett, however the landscape changed dramatically over the weekend following
Seibold’s allegations Bennett had been in contact with Rabbitohs players and making recruitment decisions.
Bennett, 68, was contracted to coach the Broncos in 2019, however the club was keen to move him on to avoid any destabilising drama next year.
Seibold signed a four-year deal with Brisbane from 2020, but will now link with the Broncos in the coming weeks on a five-year tenure that will keep him at the club until at least 2023.
Bennett was Brisbane’s foundation coach in 1988 and guided the club to all six of its premierships, the last coming in 2006.
He left the Broncos in 2009 to coach the Dragons, where he won a seventh title, and Knights, before returning to Brisbane in 2015.
The Broncos qualified for the NRL grand final in Bennett’s first year back at the club, but lost an epic all-Queensland decider to the Cowboys in extra-time.
Bennett was keen to remain as head coach of the Broncos beyond 2019, but the club’s reluctance to extend his tenure led him strike a deal with the Rabbitohs.
He refused to depart Brisbane early before the relationship eventually became untenable.