Wayne Bennett quits Knights... Is he coming back?

[Morkel]

TBH I don't want Walters anywhere near our coaching staff. Legend player, but everything suggests he's a dud head coach. Get Bennett here as director, he can assess whether Griffin has what the club needs, if not he'll find someone who is.

Gold Coast can't afford to pay out Carty as well as Bennett's price. Dragons are his only viable option besides us.

 

[Foordy]

I love how I keep reading about trying to 'move on from Bennett' because that's been so successful

eventually the guy will retire ... and him returning will just set our efforts to move on from him back, IMO.

 

[Alec]

Offer Smith an assistant coaching job once he retires.

 

[Mr Fourex]

I do too, but I'm not sure how long Carty has on his contract?

Runs out in 2016

 

[Huge]

Well I would love him back at Red Hill. The dummies got rid of him so we could improve, yeah right. We used to have an aura and player drawing power, all gone. Everyone knows Griffins walking a tightrope, so why not. Why did we fix it if it wasn't broken ? See you at home Coach.

 

[Ari Gold]

Offer Smith an assistant coaching job once he retires.

This is my biggest hope. Even more so than Lockyer. Cam Smith becoming our coach for 15 years would be my wet dream were it not for the existence of Anna Kendrick.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Not Fort Knox
Wayne Bennett is the greatest coach the game has seen and he is loved by the players around the game. But get this straight - he is driven by the dollar, because he has a family situation that demands it. So here is something he needs to be aware of - if he isn't already. If he wasn't happy with the financial mess at the Knights, he could be in for a rough ride at the Dragons. The Dragons are a long way from being Fort Knox - something he thought that Nathan Tinkler was when he rode into town. This column is aware that Peter Doust has had falling out with Bruce Gordon - the billionaire WIN TV owner. It happened in recent days. And here is the issue for the Dragons - he has loaned the club $6.5 million. Money that he wants back, perhaps sooner rather than later when it comes to the Dragons as a result of the disagreement. Does this sound familiar to Bennett? The Dragons have put in a handsome offer for the master coach but surely Bennett will want some kind of promise regarding the club's financial future. The NRL have already topped the Dragons up and there is concern that that they may reach the point and say enough is enough. So Bennett will need to look at that and wonder ''if Gordon calls on the loan to be repaid and the club can't do it, what happens next?'' There are other matters at hand as well - like the fact that the players are thriving under Paul McGregor - who is a very good coach in the making. On the day before Origin, McGregor sat down with Trent Merrin and Josh Dugan and just talked footy for the best part of an hour. Then there is the issue of the Broncos. A Bennett homecoming is the talk of the Brisbane media - they are predicting a bad month of football and pressure to mount on Anthony Griffin. Again, what they have not taken into account is that Bennett has been looked at by the Broncos as a coaching co-ordinator - not a head coach - to go over the top of Griffin. The issue is: does Bennett want to slip into that situation? Those who know Griffin's situation say that he is under no threat of going. ''I can't speak highly enough of him,'' said Ben Hunt, the in-form Broncos half. ''He has pushed me and pushed me to get the best out of me and I think he has … His faith and support has got me playing my best football and I have to thank him for having that faith.'' Doust knows what humble pie tastes like - Bennett wanted a longer-term deal at the Dragons than one that was delivered.




Read more: Paul Gallen: I thought I'd be dropped

Another twist in the saga.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

St George Illawarra could jeopardise future assistance funding packages from the NRL if it outlays millions of dollars on a new contract for Wayne Bennett.
The Dragons have expressed interest in rehiring Bennett after he announced he would leave Newcastle at the end of this year.
The seven-time premiership coach had committed to the Knights until the end of 2015 but the departure of the Hunter Sports Group, the club owner he was contracted to, effectively made him a free agent.
Dragons chief executive Peter Doust has expressed interest in Bennett, who famously steered the joint venture to its first premiership win in 2010.


Given the club has not appointed a long-term successor to the sacked Steve Price – coupled with Bennett's preference for not taking a job currently occupied – a reunion appears a natural fit.
However, an unexpected obstacle could come in the form of the NRL, which would probably take a dim view of a club it has provided emergency financial assistance to spending an exorbitant amount on a coach.
The Dragons went cap in hand to the governing body requesting advances on grant payments because of the spiralling costs, exacerbated by the decrease of funding from the St George Leagues Club.


The ARL Commission does not want to be seen as giving an artificial advantage to a struggling club's chase for Bennett when emergency funds were provided to help meet debts and expenses.
"The money provided to the Dragons was in line with their business plan, which was presented to the commission, to help ensure the club is financially stable moving forward," an NRL spokesman said.
St George Illawarra powerbrokers could argue that Bennett's return would increase marketing and sponsorship revenue. And there is the possibility several star Knights players would follow his move.
However, paying huge money for a coach who, by his own admission, did not deliver in his present role could strain the Dragons' relationship with head office.






Read more: St George Illawarra reunion with Wayne Bennett reunion could prove costly with head office

 

[subsbligh]

Bennett: Coaching director
Griffin: Head coach

Kearney: Executive Junior Vice President of water and coaching assistant

 

[Foordy]

Bennett: Coaching director
Griffin: Head coach

Kearney: Centrelink

Fixed

 

[Bucking Beads]

Well if we lose the next 2 games I'd expect the club to make moves to find a new coach. That could be what Bennett is hoping for.

 

[Anonymous person]

Another twist in the saga.

This bit is a bit dishonest:

he is driven by the dollar, because he has a family situation that demands it.

His family situation hasn't demanded it in 10+ years. He's a multi multi millionairre. His last contract alone would've been more than enough to last him and his family their entire lives. He's driven by money because that's the type of person he is. He's no different to Sonny Bill - he'll go wherever he can profit the most.

I can't see him coming back yet because he clearly wants to be head coach still. Not many teams are after a new head coach by the looks of it, so it seems like its St George or noone.

 

[broncos4life]

This bit is a bit dishonest:



His family situation hasn't demanded it in 10+ years. He's a multi multi millionairre. His last contract alone would've been more than enough to last him and his family their entire lives. He's driven by money because that's the type of person he is. He's no different to Sonny Bill - he'll go wherever he can profit the most.

I can't see him coming back yet because he clearly wants to be head coach still. Not many teams are after a new head coach by the looks of it, so it seems like its St George or noone.

How do you even know how much money he has or how much his family need to last their entire lives, he has 2 disabled dependants. It's not your place to comment on someone else's business or 'how much they need' just so you can keep pushing this ridiculous fucking agenda.

Edit: Inappropriate

 

[Anonymous person]

How do you even know how much money he has or how much his family need to last their entire lives, he has 2 disabled dependants. It's not your place to comment on someone else's business or 'how much they need' just so you can keep pushing this ridiculous ****ing agenda.

Edit: Inappropriate

I know that how much he earned from his last contract alone is all anyone would ever need to care for 2 disabled children.

He earned $3mil from the knights. He earned ~$750k a year at the dragons. He also got over $1m from the Thoroughbreds while he was with the Broncos, on top of his hundreds of thousands per year in his regular salary.

So yes, I can comment on how much he "needs" because of his childrens disabilities. The guy earned more from his knights contract than most people will earn in their entire working life, and many of those people have disabled kids. To say that he needs the money to care for his 2 children because they have disabilities is ridiculous. If he "needs the money" while earning $1mil a year, what do you call the situation that people who earn < 5% of his wage?

 

[Huge]

I doubt money has much to do with WB and his motivation to coach. I wouldn't be at all surprised that WB contributes hugely to various charities/causes and does it behind the scenes. It's possible he could simply not know what his future holds yet and he may just wait until after the season ends and sees what's available. I'd say he would most likely return to Queensland, God knows all the Queensland clubs need help.

 

[Unbreakable]

Yeah I've gotta completely disagree [MENTION=2115]Anonymous person[/MENTION]

Wayne is the sort of guy who will not only want to earn enough money in his working career to care for his family for the immediate future, but he'll want them taken care of after he's gone, and even further on, his grand kids. It would take a LOT of money to come even remotely close to that sort of nest egg.

So after all is said and done, I don't blame him for wanting the most money he can get, I'd be doing the same thing in his situation.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Yeah I've gotta completely disagree @Anonymous person

Wayne is the sort of guy who will not only want to earn enough money in his working career to care for his family for the immediate future, but he'll want them taken care of after he's gone, and even further on, his grand kids. It would take a LOT of money to come even remotely close to that sort of nest egg.

So after all is said and done, I don't blame him for wanting the most money he can get, I'd be doing the same thing in his situation.

Exactly, you've hit the nail smack on the head, I reckon.

 

[Anonymous person]

Yeah I've gotta completely disagree @Anonymous person

Wayne is the sort of guy who will not only want to earn enough money in his working career to care for his family for the immediate future, but he'll want them taken care of after he's gone, and even further on, his grand kids. It would take a LOT of money to come even remotely close to that sort of nest egg.

So after all is said and done, I don't blame him for wanting the most money he can get, I'd be doing the same thing in his situation.

I'd say $10mil+ is easily enough for your kids and grand kids to live a very comfortable life while they even only earned minimum wage, if they even needed to earn that much. Again - most people wont ever even earn $3 mil in their lifetime. $3mil is $75k a year for 40 years.

Let's get this straight though - I don't blame him either. I don't blame Folau for chasing the money. I don't blame Sonny Bill for chasing the money every year. I'd do it myself if the opportunity came up.

What I don't like though is people making it out like he's doing it all because poor old wayne's family is struggling and he needs to earn $1mil+ every year or his family will be out on the streets. The guy has easily earned $10mil+ in his career. He doesn't need the money. He wants the money, and that seems to be all he cares about these days. Well along with trying to go to a club that has already built the foundation of a premiership winning team, since he clearly doesn't want to be the one who puts in the hard yards. Just after the easy (millions of) bucks.