PERFORM OR KISS THE NRL GOODBYE
TITANS cult hero Konrad Hurrell is fighting for his NRL future.
The 26-year-old’s form has been well below par this season, prompting coach Garth Brennan to send the Tongan international to the Intrust Super Cup.
Brennan said Hurrell was fighting to earn a contract extension at the Gold Coast beyond 2019.
WAYNE Bennett has taken a stunning swipe at the Brisbane board amid revelations the NRL’s greatest coach has 10 weeks to save his glittering career at the Broncos.
Bennett’s hopes of one final Broncos contract hinges on his side’s performances over the remainder of the 2018 season – starting against Cronulla tonight at Suncorp Stadium.
The Broncos board will meet again next month on the eve of the NRL finals before Brisbane chief executive Paul White makes a recommendation on Bennett’s future in October.
At this stage, Bennett is a dead-man walking at Red Hill, with the Broncos board baulking at his proposal for a oneyear extension in 2020 with a view to a longer-term coaching director’s role.
Sources say Bennett’s only hope of survival is steering the Broncos to a grand-final campaign this season.
An early departure from the finals race will convince Brisbane bosses to expedite a succession plan that will see Bennett jettisoned at the end of next year with a new coaching face installed for 2020.
New chairman Karl Morris is refusing to speak publicly about Brisbane’s only premiership coach, prompting Bennett to take aim at Morris and White, saying the club needs clarity. “From a personal point of view, I do (want some answers),” Bennett said.
“I have to come to (press conferences), it’s compulsory for me to come every week and I have to answer these questions all the time.
“They (Broncos board members) don’t have to come to the meetings, they can avoid them, make no comments and all the stuff that goes with their role. I’m the one that is facing the music.”
It is believed Bennett has the support of two members on Brisbane’s five-person board – Tony Joseph and former Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer.