The Eels have been trying to sign Wayne Bennett as coach for almost three weeks, and have sacked Brad Arthur despite failing in their bid to flip his intended move to South Sydney.
Arthur was axed following a brutal Magic Round loss to the Storm, but it’s clear his papers have been stamped for weeks as Parramatta higher-ups worked behind the scenes to land the supercoach.
Bennett was known to be holding meetings with South Sydney during Magic Round but
News Corp reported on Monday Bennett had rejected a deal from the Eels, also made across the weekend in Brisbane.
The Dolphins boss told Eels chairman Sean McElduff and CEO Jim Sarantinos he was committed to returning to South Sydney even if Arthur was about to be sacked, according to The Courier-Mail’s Pete Badel.