A couple of articles from Sporting News,
Could this be a new twist to the Wayne Bennett-Anthony Seibold saga?
Cunning Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett has painted the Broncos so far into the corner over his future that it may force South Sydney to install a caretaker coach next year.
That’s the belief of Sporting News league expert Peter Peters, who finds it hard to see how Brisbane-bound Anthony Seibold can last at Redfern.
Zorba believes the Bennett-Seibold swap will either happen over the next few weeks or the Bunnies will get rid of Seibold early and look for someone to warm Bennett’s seat until the master coach’s arrival in 2020.
“It’s a circus and Bennett’s the ringmaster,” Peters told
Sky Sports Radio .
“He’s digging his heels in and is sticking like glue to the Broncos.
“And at the moment Souths are the big losers. It leaves Seibold at a club that doesn’t really want him.
“He (Bennett) will exit his old club on his terms while Seibold will either work out the 2019 season with the Rabbitohs or be forced to take a gap year.”
Zorba threw up Bennett’s assistant at Brisbane – the highly regarded Jason Demetriou – as someone who could take the reins at Souths for a season.
He said: “Something will need to be done soon on the Bennett-Seibold swap …either that or Souths will bring in another coach for next season and it may well be Bennett’s assistant.
“Maybe Demetriou will get the gig for 12 months in a stop-gap position.”
Souths had Bennett starting with them on December 3 but those plans were thrown into chaos when Broncos chairman Karl Morris refused to sack the veteran coach during a terse meeting on Saturday.
The 68-year-old is not about to walk away from the final year of his deal, leaving a nasty impasse that is badly impacting two clubs.
Zorba said of Bennett: “He’s played the rookie chairman off a break.
“Bennett called all the shots in the meeting.
“He hasn’t been all round all this time without learning the ropes.”
Wayne Bennett doesn’t want payout, won’t actively recruit Brisbane Broncos players to South Sydney
The general consensus in rugby league circles is that it can only end badly - but Wayne Bennett insists the Brisbane Broncos’ shock decision to keep him on as head coach in 2019 can work.
Bennett met briefly with Broncos chairman Karl Morris on Saturday and was
assured he will coach the club next season.
Even the master coach, who has signed a three-year deal with South Sydney from 2020, assumed he would be punted.
According to reports Bennett had even
given the Rabbitohs his starting date at the club because he was so sure the Broncos were set to sack him and install Bunnies boss Anthony Seibold immediately.
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Several ex-Broncos have called for the club to cut ties with Bennett immediately in recent weeks amid allegations the 68-year-old facilitated discussions between the Rabbitohs and Penrith forward Trent Merrin earlier this month.
Bennett denied those claims and is adamant he won’t actively recruit Broncos stars for the 2020 season.
‘‘I think it will (work), it certainly won’t worry me,’’ he told
Fairfax Media.
‘‘If you look at my coaching time, the last time I left the Broncos, Darius Boyd was the only player I’ve ever taken.
“I’m not looking to recruit Darius from the club. But if the players want to come, that’s up to them (but) I won’t deliberately be trying to recruit players.’’
Boom back-rower Tevita Pangai Junior and controversial prop Matt Lodge are both yet to sign contracts with the Broncos this season.
Bennett’s reprieve for the 2019 NRL campaign will see both players remain at Red Hill for one more season.
The Bunnies may balk at the chance to sign Lodge in 2020 due to his well-documented off-field issues but Pangai Junior is already considered a certainty to link with Bennett at Redfern.
Meanwhile, Bennett claims he was not angling for a payout from the Broncos before joining South Sydney next month.
The Broncos would have had to pay the seven-time premiership-winning coach his $900,000 salary for 2019 to facilitate a swap with Seibold, who inked a four-year deal starting in 2020 with Brisbane last month.
“At no stage did Karl mention a payout,” Bennett told
The Courier Mail.
“The payout isn’t an issue, there was no talk about straight swaps with Seibold, it was never part of the discussion.
“The Broncos have said they intend to honour my deal and I can only take their word on that.”
Brisbane’s shock decision to keep Bennett around has left the Rabbitohs in disarray.
Multiple reports suggest Seibold has lost the support of senior South Sydney players after pledging his long-term allegiance to the Broncos.
