YAWNING OF A NEW ERA
Bennett happy at Bunnies
RUGBY LEAGUE: New South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett bizarrely revealed he wanted to be sacked by former club Brisbane – but threatened to walk out of a press conference yesterday if pressed on the drama. Bennett also admitted he had spoken to Rabbitohs players while still in charge at Brisbane – but claimed he arrived at Souths with a “clear conscious”.
The seven-time premiership-winning coach actually suggested he was “happy” to be sacked by Brisbane. He also made a point of claiming how pleased and secure he felt at Souths – an obvious dig at Brisbane.
Bennett spent his first day at Redfern yesterday watching Souths players train and conducting a 15-minute media conference with about 50 fans in attendance. There were fears Bennett would walk out of his first press conference at South Sydney after warnings he was not to be asked about the Broncos. Bennett however did not follow through on the threat but shocked observers by stating he had wanted to be sacked by the Broncos board. “Because it was important to me. I’ve been a team member all my life. I live team, talk team and some of my team had been isolated and cut out. I couldn’t walk out on them,” Bennett said
“Do I look heartbroken? I was happy to be sacked. Leave it at that, I was happy.
“I’m pleased I came here on my terms in the sense that I didn’t have to leave the Broncos. I was asked to leave, sacked, whatever terminology you want to use, it doesn’t worry me.
“I’ve got a clear conscious. “Look, I’m not here to discuss that (being sacked by voicemail), I want to talk about South Sydney, that’s what I’ll do. That can wait for another day.”
Bennett was dumped by the Broncos on Sunday after former Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold alleged Bennett had, while still coaching Brisbane, been calling Souths stars Sam Burgess, Alex Johnston and Damien Cook.
Bennett admitted he had. “Yeah I did, on the request of (Souths general manager) Shane Richardson because they were guys under contract and they wanted to keep them here,” Bennett said.
“I was going to be the longterm coach here from 2020. I talked about contracts.
“In Alex, in his particular case, he was thinking about moving clubs in the middle of his contract and Souths weren’t keen to lose him. That was purely what the discussions were about.”
Asked did he reference 2019 in those discussions, Bennett said: “I may well have referenced them but if I did, it wasn’t that I was coming here to coach straight away because I didn’t know that.
“At the end of the day I made a decision to stay at the Broncos and I’m here under other circumstances.
“Nothing that’s happened over the last six months has made any sense.”
Bennett stressed he wanted to retain Cook, the NSW and Souths hooker.
“Absolutely, that’s what I rang him for a couple of months ago,” Bennett said.
Souths is Bennett’s fifth NRL club having previously coached Canberra, Brisbane, St George Illawarra and Newcastle.