Jets and Firehawks in battle to sign Bennett
THE expansion battle has exploded with Wayne Bennett on the radar of rival bids from the Jets and Firehawks in a looming $1m showdown to bring the super coach home to spearhead Brisbane’s second team.
The NRL will officially call for expressions of interest on Friday and the expansion race has begun with a bang with Bennett having had contact with the Firehawks and Jets in a three-way fight with the Dolphins to become the code’s 17th team.
Firehawks bid powerbroker Shane Richardson — the man who lured Bennett to Souths in 2019 — flew to Sydney last month to inspect the Rabbitohs’ set-up, but insists no deal has been done with the 71-year-old as they also consider Queensland coach Paul Green.
The Jets first approached Bennett in February and have a $1m budget to sign the coaching great as their foundation mentor should they clinch the licence as Brisbane’s second team for 2023.
Richardson confirmed he recently caught up with Bennett, but stressed the Firehawks are keeping all options open as they draw up a hit-list of coaches in their bid to enter the NRL.
“We went down to Souths a few weeks ago and we caught up with Wayne,” he said. “We had a chat, but he was one of a number of South Sydney people we spoke to that day as part of putting our bid together.
“I have a history with Wayne and I was involved in bringing him to Souths, but there’s been no offer and there are a number of coaches we are looking at for the job.
“We’ve spoken about which coaches are an option and of course Wayne is an option, but so is Paul Green, who actually played for the Easts Tigers.
“There has been no formal talks, but we will need to appoint a coach as quickly as possible because you can’t sign players without potential recruits knowing who the coach is.”
Bennett declined to comment on the expansion battle but the South Sydney mentor last month told News Corp he was “open to all offers” as he prepares to return to Queensland in November.
While Bennett is focusing on winning a premiership at Souths this year, his future will become clearer in the next eight weeks.