PLAYERS BEHIND WAYNE

Milford sure the coach will be at Brisbane next year

RUGBY LEAGUE: Broncos player of the year Anthony Milford says he and his teammates trust in Wayne Bennett to serve out his last year as Brisbane coach.

Milford cut through continued scrutiny over whether Bennett will take part in a series of NRL club coaching moves.

Bennett yesterday declined to untangle different interpretations over his comments at the Broncos presentation dinner on on whether he would head up of Brisbane’s 2019 bid.

“Interpretation is up to you,’’ Bennett texted when asked if his comments on Saturday night were intended to mean he would coach the Broncos in the last year of his contact.

Bennett did use the word “we’’ when referring to the 2019 Broncos when addressing the function audience. So did outof-contract winger Corey Oates.

“Whatever happens in the media, I know Wayne will be here. He has a whole lot of trust with the boys,’’ said Milford, who overhauled runner-up Matt Lodge in the voting for the club’s Paul Morgan Medal for best player.

“We will definitely be playing for him and backing him. We’ll be doing everything we can to play for him, whether he stays on longer or not.

“We have a very good coach and if we can keep the youth together, we can definitely do something special next year.’’

The way football clubs work, Saturday’s presentation night was an opportunity for Bennett and the club to break from one campaign and address issues about the next season.

Asked if there was now any clarity over Bennett’s plans to coach Brisbane, Wests Tigers or another club, Bennett’s manager George Mimis said there was “nothing that Wayne has not already said’’.

There was no intimation from Bennett’s actions after the dinner that the year-end function had been an occasion for him to say farewells to staff and players.

Bennett leaves Brisbane on Wednesday to coach England in three Tests against New Zealand.

Broncos staffers say there has been no indication from Bennett that he will be leaving Red Hill. For Bennett to move to the Tigers would mean living in Sydney near their inner-west training base, which is not a patch on Brisbane’s $25 million facility, to coach an inferior list in 2019 than the Broncos have while prevailing on his preferred staff to move there as well.

Milford said he would not rush a return from shoulder surgery in round 1 in March if it proved wiser to wait a round or two more.

“I will do whatever is best for the club,” he said.