Bennett on the Dragons’ radar

WAYNE Bennett is on the Dragons’ coaching radar with the besieged Broncos mentor closing the door on the prospect of working with Phil Gould at the Panthers.

Dragons coach Paul McGregor is on shaky ground and could be jettisoned to make way for Bennett’s resurrection with the club he steered to the 2010 premiership.

Influential figures at the Dragons have privately discussed a Bennett comeback, possibly as early as next season if the NRL’s greatest coach is sacked by Brisbane in coming weeks.

McGregor is off-contract at the end of next year but an internal faction has questioned whether the former NSW Origin centre can emulate Bennett and take the Red V to the holy grail.

The Dragons are mired in a form slump that threatens to derail their premiership push, amplifying pressure on McGregor in his fourth season as St George Illawarra coach.

The announcement of the Dragons’ CEO successor to long-serving Peter Doust is imminent.

A new ownership structure is also expected to be unveiled this month and Bennett — the joint-venture club’s only premiership coach — has been targeted as part of a fresh strategic vision.

While Bennett’s preference is to coach the Broncos until 2020, the 68-year-old is ostensibly a dead-man walking at Red Hill.

Broncos chairman Karl Morris and chief executive Paul White are keen to enact a succession plan.