Deft move could see Bennett fast- tracked to Tigers
WAYNE Bennett is not joining Penrith but the Panthers may be forced to help pay his wage if they want to fast track the recruitment of Ivan Cleary.
Bennett has reportedly been shopped to the Wests Tigers for 2020 and beyond once his contract with the Broncos ends after next season.
Penrith have re- signed young playmaker Nathan Cleary and hope to reunite him with his father Ivan, who is contracted to coach Wests Tigers until 2020.
If Penrith are desperate to bring Cleary back before the start of next season, it could open the way for Bennett to leave Brisbane and join the Tigers a year early.
This would involve a delicate financial operation where Wests would have to buy out Bennett’s Brisbane deal believed to be about $ 1 million.
They may not have the fi- nancial resources to reach this figure but with help from Penrith it may be possible.
Cleary and Bennett are managed by the same company – SFX Sports – so that could help smooth what could be a complex and potentially awkward negotiation.
If Bennett left the Broncos before the start of next season the club could act swiftly to replace him without being involved in another tangled contract web.
Assistant coach Jason Demetriou is waiting in the wings along with Queensland State of Origin coach Kevin Walters, while former Souths premiership coach Michael Maguire has also been linked to the club.
Club captain Darius Boyd has previously endorsed Demetriou’s credentials, though the difficult tenures of Ivan Henjak and Anthony Griffin at Red Hill cemented the thought that the Broncos need an experienced big- name coach.