Johns calls on Broncos to pay out Bennett

BRISBANE legend Chris Johns has led a Broncos old boys’ attack on club hierarchy, personally fronting CEO Paul White and calling for coach Wayne Bennett to be paid every cent he is owed.

News Corp understands Bennett will meet today with Broncos chairman Karl Morris to discuss a compensation deal, clearing the path for an immediate straight swap with Souths coach Anthony Seibold.

Rabbitohs bosses contacted Brisbane chiefs a fortnight ago to kickstart a financial settlement, but Bennett will not accept any cut- price arrangement.

It means the Broncos will have to pay Bennett $ 900,000 – his entire salary for next season – or face the prospect of the 68- year- old digging his heels in and blocking Seibold’s arrival for another 12 months.

The protracted saga has gone down like a lead balloon with many Broncos greats, including Johns, who has contacted Morris and met with White to express his anger at a process he slammed as a “debacle”.

Johns claims the search for Bennett’s successor has been one of the most embarrassing episodes in Brisbane’s 30- year history and he urged Morris to finally end the affair by paying out the super coach in full.

“I’ve taken my frustrations to Paul White and Karl Morris,” said Johns, the 171- game Broncos legend and former Melbourne Storm CEO.

“This entire episode has been a farce.

“I’ve sent a couple of text messages to Karl basically saying ‘ Get on with the job’.

“As a former CEO myself, I met Paul White and I said, ‘ It’s crazy what has gone on, this is not the standards of a professional organisation’.

“I told Paul how I felt and he told me how he felt, and it’s fair to say we agreed to disagree on a few things. It’s been a sad and messy process from day one.’’