Tinkler plays family card in Bennett deal
- James Hooper
- April 10, 2011 12:00AM
THE red carpet being rolled out to lure Wayne Bennett to Newcastle has taken a family twist, with mining magnate Nathan Tinkler offering the supercoach's son-in-law, Ben Ikin, a job.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that billionaire Tinkler met with Ikin last week to toss in the latest sweetener on the deal, telling the former Brisbane Broncos player he could help manage his ever-increasing property portfolio.
So, on top of a reported $4 million contract over two years and unconditional use of his private jet, Tinkler is now playing a family trump card to sign Bennett.
In South Sydney's bunker at Redfern, co-owner Russell Crowe has supposedly thrown up the keys to his $14 million penthouse at Woolloomooloo.
The Tinkler Group's property portfolio offer to Ikin is the latest high-rolling move in the battle being staged between Newcastle and Souths for Bennett's signature.
As of last night, everyone was holding their cards as close as possible, with any flinch seen as a potential opportunity for Bennett to have a change of heart and renege on any agreement.
Knights coach Rick Stone spoke to Tinkler yesterday and reckoned even the mining kingpin was in the dark.
"I had a chat with Tinkler before, and he said even he doesn't know, so we're all just waiting to see," Stone said.
The same game was being played out of the South Sydney camp, with chief executive Shane Richardson refusing to budge about any impending announcement.
"I'm not making any comment," Richardson said.
"Hopefully, we'll have a better idea next week of the direction our club's heading."
Everyone knows that in Bennett's world, family comes first, second and third. So the Tinkler strategy of offering son-in-law Ikin a job and tossing in his plane to travel between Newcastle and Brisbane is seen as smart politics.
Retired Queensland Origin centre Ikin is married to Bennett's daughter Beth and enjoys close ties with the seven-time premiership winner.
When The Sunday Telegraph contacted Ikin to ask about the Tinkler approach yesterday, he would respond only to text messages.
"You guys are good. It won't be about the money but rather the challenge," Ikin wrote.
The jury is still out on whether Crowe's reported use of his $14 million Woolloomooloo apartment is quite so appealing to a man of Bennett's country tastes.
As one well-connected rugby league identity pointed out yesterday: "Can you really picture Wayne Bennett sipping a latte down at the Woolloomooloo wharf with the rest of those eastern suburbs wankers?"
The key men doing the negotiating, and their history with Bennett, paint a fascinating picture.
At the Knights, Tinkler and his group chief executive Ken Edwards are the key players, while at South Sydney, Crowe and Richardson are the men pulling the strings.
One of the key points of initial contact between Bennett and both clubs has been Shane Edwards - a former Brisbane Broncos chief executive and one of Bennett's closest friends.
Edwards is the brother of Tinkler Group CEO Ken Edwards and best mate of Rabbitohs CEO Richardson - a deliciously ironic link.
As for whether Bennett could surprise everyone by playing a completely different hand to the two clubs currently in front of him - well, that seemed unlikely last night. But, as the Roosters can attest, no deal with Wayne Bennett is a done deal until you have his signature on a contract.
Roosters chairman Nick Politis still hasn't forgotten how Bennett backflipped out of an impending move to Bondi in September, 2006 when the deal became public.
Bennett's backflip on that occasion is a move that every club in the NRL remembers, and it explains why Newcastle and Souths are jumping at shadows ahead of Bennett's final call this week.
