Wayne Bennett replaced as England/Great Britain Coach

[Waynesaurus]

Well it certainly does not come as a surprise as results have been particularly poor. I don't believe he was sacked but rather his contract was not renewed.

In attack they just looked so lost and clueless which I think is probably more of a reflection of the way the game is played in the Super League.

 

[Kooly87]

Well it certainly does not come as a surprise as results have been particularly poor. I don't believe he was sacked but rather his contract was not renewed.

In attack they just looked so lost and clueless which I think is probably more of a reflection of the way the game is played in the Super League.

You're right, not surprising at all that they want a new Coach. You can bet Wayne will probably be the least surprised of all.

That said, the English game has problems that extend way beyond their National Coach so I don't see any change here yielding results that are any better.

Realistically, they were almost always beaten by the Nations that are made up of top NRL talent (Australia & New Zealand) and now we're seeing nations like Tonga being filled with top level NRL talent and they're starting to move ahead of England/Great Britain too. Just shows how far behind the Super League is at this point.

 

[Foordy]

Wayne has reportedly be named coach of the Cook Islands

 

[Unbreakable]

Wayne has reportedly be named coach of the Cook Islands

What a fall from grace for the super coach, from coaching the Broncos and England to coaching Souffs and the Cook Islands.

 

[Wolfie]

What a fall from grace for the super coach, from coaching the Broncos and England to coaching Souffs and the Cook Islands.

He was actually approached by Lexie to help them out.

 

[Kimlo]

What a legend of a man, instead of just relaxing at home, he's out there helping a struggling league nation. I wish other coaches gave a **** about rugby league like Bennett.

 

[Thelmus]

What a legend of a man, instead of just relaxing at home, he's out there helping a struggling league nation. I wish other coaches gave a **** about rugby league like Bennett.

One thing you can say about Bennet is he loves the game. I think he sees the international game as the place the game needs to grow and has been working that by literally coaching every national team that is out there with the exception of PNG (his brother coached them once though).
He may make mistakes and he may have let himself down here in his last years but if he died tomorrow I'd be the first to say "build him a statue that dominates the others because that is what he has meant to this game".

 

[Kooly87]

One thing you can say about Bennet is he loves the game. I think he sees the international game as the place the game needs to grow and has been working that by literally coaching every national team that is out there with the exception of PNG (his brother coached them once though).
He may make mistakes and he may have let himself down here in his last years but if he died tomorrow I'd be the first to say "build him a statue that dominates the others because that is what he has meant to this game".

Here here. He might have left us in poor circumstances and he may not have always got it right over the years, but honestly, in a career that's lasted as long as his, few, if any, could say they got them right more often than Bennett has. The Broncos, Queensland and Rugby League in general are all far, far richer for Bennett having been involved with them.

 

[Kooly87]

What a fall from grace for the super coach, from coaching the Broncos and England to coaching Souffs and the Cook Islands.

There are plenty of people who would argue that coaching Souths is about as prestigious as it gets in the NRL, or at least on par with the Broncos. As for the Cook Islands, it's a tremendous gesture towards a developing and actually pretty promising Rugby League nation that you can just about guarantee will likely do very little, if nothing at all, to line Bennett's own pockets given what the Cook Islands operating budget is likely to be for that role.

 

[Huge]

There are plenty of people who would argue that coaching Souths is about as prestigious as it gets in the NRL, or at least on par with the Broncos. As for the Cook Islands, it's a tremendous gesture towards a developing and actually pretty promising Rugby League nation that you can just about guarantee will likely do very little, if nothing at all, to line Bennett's own pockets given what the Cook Islands operating budget is likely to be for that role.

Yes. I think that anyone who believes WB does shit purely for money just doesn't get it. Long after he's gone people will find out just how much of his wealth went to those who needed it. I still respect and admire him and for that I feel no shame.

 

[Foordy]

Hopefully, the powers that be don't put unrealistic expectations on the team now that Bennett is the coach.

while i don't feel Bennett is the right coach for the Broncos any longer, I don't question his motives in the international arena

 

[Kooly87]

Yes. I think that anyone who believes WB does shit purely for money just doesn't get it. Long after he's gone people will find out just how much of his wealth went to those who needed it. I still respect and admire him and for that I feel no shame.

He's no doubt been very well paid, but honestly, as basically the best in the business at his job over several decades, he's absolutely entitled to be paid accordingly.

 

[Kooly87]

Hopefully, the powers that be don't put unrealistic expectations on the team now that Bennett is the coach.

while i don't feel Bennett is the right coach for the Broncos any longer, I don't question his motives in the international arena

The best thing he can offer is hopefully some drawing power for attracting players. The Cook Islands are really hard done by in that they have plenty of CI heritage players in the comp, but virtually all of them have nominated to play for other wealthier or more competitive nations and that's fair enough.

The talent alone makes them somewhat of a sleeping giant in the International game if they can bring some of their diaspora of players back home to play for them under Bennett.

 

[Foordy]

Rothfield is reporting that the Rabbitohs have a succession plan in place for Bennett, it is as follows:

Bennett remains coach until the end of his contract (end of 2021)
Bennett takes Richardsons job as head of football (Richardson off contract end of 2021)
JD becomes head coach of the Rabbitohs for the 2022 season.

so pretty much exactly what Bennett planned to do here, just a few years later

 

[Porthoz]

so pretty much exactly what Bennett planned to do here, just a few years later

Pretty much what was offered to him by the board. Whether that was his plan is another thing...
Is Richardson on board with this btw?

 

[broncos4life]

Rothfield is reporting that the Rabbitohs have a succession plan in place for Bennett, it is as follows:

Bennett remains coach until the end of his contract (end of 2021)
Bennett takes Richardsons job as head of football (Richardson off contract end of 2021)
JD becomes head coach of the Rabbitohs for the 2022 season.

so pretty much exactly what Bennett planned to do here, just a few years later

If this is true it will say a lot about Bennett if he takes it IMO.

 

[Kooly87]

Is he really going to continue to live in Sydney beyond his coaching contract? That seems a fair stretch.

I always saw Bennett working for us post Coaching. Obviously that is unlikely now, but surely the QRL would have full time roles they would be able to utilise Bennett in?