Intolerable situation had to be sorted out
RUGBY LEAGUE: In the end it was the right decision.
Imagine for a moment that Wayne Bennett is the boss of food chain Woolworths.
He hasn’t delivered the target and goals that were set four years ago.
The Woolworths board decides not to extend his contract for 2020. So he goes off and signs up with a major competitor in Coles.
And then it gets murky.
He starts talking to senior Coles staff about their future roles, even though he’s got a year to go at Woolies.
He even begins planning for his arrival at Coles by organising staff training sessions even if it’s undermining the current Coles boss. The poor employees are in limbo.
They have no idea who they are answering or reporting to.
Now this is too ridiculous to even imagine in the business world.
Obviously Woolworths would sack Bennett.
Now for some breaking news: Running an NRL club is a business and in the Broncos’ case a big business.
It was an intolerable situation in that Bennett was trying to coach two teams at once. The evidence is there. One day at a press conference he’ll tell us he’s fully committed to the Broncos.
The next he’s ringing South Sydney fullback Alex Johnston to tell him he’s moving to the wing.
Another day he’s saying he can win a premiership before he leaves.
The next he’s ringing Damien Cook to check on his future at the Rabbitohs.
The great man wanted to honour his contract at the Broncos.
Shame he didn’t have the same honour in 2014 when he walked out on the Newcastle Knights mid-contract and left the club in a diabolical state they are only now recovering from.
Apparently he owed it to the Broncos players and had nothing to do with money and a $1 million payout. Of course not.