THE first person that Wayne *Bennett told he was leaving *Newcastle after three years was Alex McKinnon.
As the Hunter rugby league community digests the news that Bennett will no longer be at the helm of the Knights, the man himself wanted McKinnon to know there would be no change in their relationship.
Bennett has been a constant in McKinnon’s rehabilitation since the 22-year-old fractured neck vertebrae in round three against Melbourne.
Next weekend, the NRL has renamed the fixtures the “Rise for Alex’’ round. Channel Nine is running a fundraising telethon on The Footy Show, while $1 from every ticket sold to the Knights-Gold Coast match and the Storm-Canberra match, plus money raised from specially-made wristbands will go towards McKinnon’s medical and lifestyle expenses.
Bennett and the ginger-haired forward with the huge smile have a special bond. It made sense to the 64-year-old coach to call him first.
“I rang Alex personally to tell him what I was doing. And I told him there was no way in the world I was leaving him,” Bennett said yesterday.
“I told him I’d always be there for him; it wouldn’t matter how many miles were between us.
“I was always ending up back in Brisbane one day and he knows that,” Bennett said, referring to his retirement years.
The Brisbane Broncos are unlikely to terminate Anthony Griffin a year early to accommodate Bennett as he was off contract with Newcastle next year officially.
But when Nathan Tinkler’s Hunter Sports Group ceased *ownership of the Knights last month, it made Bennett a relatively free agent.
He announced on Thursday he would not stay for his final year.
St George Illawarra, where Bennett spent three years and won a premiership with in 2010, is back in the hunt for his signature. But Bennett yesterday said he would sit out a season if the right job didn’t come along.
“A year out of the game worries me as the game is changing all the time — you would lose a bit,” he said.
“If I had to take time out, I would, but it’s not my preferred choice.
“Then again I’m not going to take something I don’t want. I’m at that stage of my life that I know what’s good for me.”
The NRL has taken over ownership of the Hunter club creating a new entity: Knights Rugby League Pty Ltd. A recruitment firm was hired a week ago to find suitable local candidates as *directors.
NRL boss Dave Smith said he hoped Bennett would be a part of the process of installing new board members.
“Regardless of whether I was staying or going, I’ve got no right to have a say in the board make-up,” Bennett said yesterday.
“I certainly want to have an input about the (new) coach and the staff that’s already there.
“I’ll put together a short-list of people I think they should be looking at. Just because I’m leaving, I’m not washing my hands of the joint.’’
Bennett said his best memories were the run by the Knights to the preliminary final last year, beating Brisbane, Parramatta, Canterbury and Melbourne before falling to Sydney Roosters.
“Off the field it was the way we handled the Russell Packer and Alex McKinnon situations. Both of them had great difficulties and both of them are still ongoing.
“But I’m extremely proud of the club the way they’ve done the right thing.”
“I think we did it with class and dignity. So I’m proud of that.”
