OPINION: Why Wayne Bennett should go now
By KEVIN CRANSON
July 21, 2014, 7:44 p.m
WHOEVER is running the Knights at the moment should show Wayne Bennett the door immediately and appoint Rick Stone as head coach.
The news that Bennett is heading back to the Broncos makes his position at Newcastle untenable, and those left to clean up the mess at the Knights cant get on with that job while they dont have a coach.
Bennett is going to the opposition. Its as simple as that.
He cant plan the revival of the club he coached to six premierships and oversee Newcastles battle to avoid the wooden spoon at the same time.
At best, his attention will be divided; at worst, there is a potential conflict of interests.
We are constantly being told that rugby league is a business these days, and a situation such as this would not be acceptable anywhere else in the business world.
Bennett has already said that rebuilding the Knights will take four or five years and that he is not the man for the job.
What he does want, we now know, is to do that job at Brisbane.
When the Knights, bankrolled by then-billionaire Nathan Tinkler, appointed Bennett to a four-year deal in 2012, Stone was moved aside in the understanding that he would learn from the supercoach and succeed him when he moved on.
Sure, Stone became the highest-paid reserve grade coach in the game as a result, but he has upheld his end of the bargain.
The deal should be honoured if that still means anything in the game even if those he made it with are no longer at the club.
The fact that Stones coaching record at the Knights is better than that of Bennett and achieved with far fewer resources and a weaker roster adds weight to his claim, as does the stated preference of club CEO Matt Gidley for a coach with local roots.
And yes, Bennett got the Knights to within a game of the grand final last season, but that was done with an ageing side that finished seventh and, as demonstrated this season, has clearly peaked.
Bennetts impending return to Brisbane is not the only reason he should go.
He has given up on the Knights.
He said so himself on Sunday after the bitterly disappointing 22-8 loss to the Titans at Hunter Stadium on Rise For Alex day.
We finished up raining on our own parade. Its just been such a crazy season, Ive given up trying to work out why, Bennett said.
Theres no reason for that type of performance here today from us. I just cant get my head around it.
And there was this, too: I cant get my head around why weve won three in a row and we turn up here today on such a great occasion, wanting to repay everybody for their faith and their donations and everything, and we just, well, you watched it.
You saw it. I dont have to add much more to it.
Maybe Im too hard. Maybe there are a lot of those issues that still linger with them regarding Alex. Youd have to ask each one of them individually, and I dont intend to do that.
Those comments about players, who by their own admission had let our mate down, seem at odds with a man renowned as a caring coach.
Its reminiscent of other comments Bennett has made after a loss.
Stuff like not knowing which team is going to get off the bus.
Well, its his job to know, and if hes given up trying to work out why the Knights are so inconsistent, its time to move on.
It was even suggested in the Sunday edition of the Knights official paper, The Daily Telegraph, that Bennett has lost parts of the dressing room.
That kind of talk borders on sacrilegious when it comes to the most esteemed coach in the game. But if there is an inkling of truth to it then the situation wont be helped by the knowledge that Bennett was deep in negotiations for a return to his spiritual home of Brisbane while his Newcastle players were preparing unsuccessfully we now know for the emotion-charged homecoming of Alex McKinnon for Sundays match.
Bennett is entitled to try to get himself another job, but now that he has done so he should go immediately.
The same should apply to Darius Boyd, who has reportedly already told friends he wont be here next season.
If Matt Gidley, chairman Paul Harragon, NRL boss Dave Smith and the interim Knights board are serious about rebuilding the club, then ensuring that those employed by it have their heart in the job would be a good start.
