Souths chief executive Blake Solly has made a bullish call about keeping hold of Wayne Bennett, amid interest from NRL bosses for the veteran coach to lead the PNG side when they enter the competition in 2028. The ARL Commission wants an experienced head coach to guide the PNG Chiefs and have already earmarked Bennett as the ideal candidate.
But the Rabbitohs are desperate to keep hold of the master coach beyond his current deal, which runs until the end of the 2027 season – right before PNG enter the NRL. Souths CEO Solly has maintained that the Bunnies want to extend the veteran mentor beyond his current deal, and while the club is aware of the ARLC’s stance on Bennett, the Rabbitohs are determined to hold onto the seven-time premiership winner.
Souths CEO Blake Solly says the club is determined to keep hold of Wayne Bennett despite league bosses wanting the veteran coach to lead the PNG side. Pic: Getty/AAP
“We understand the ARLC will be interested in Wayne taking a role with the PNG team but we are very keen for him to stay beyond his current deal,” Solly told The Daily Telegraph. “Hopefully we’ll have those discussions over this off-season.”
News Corp reports that the Rabbitohs will look to finalise a new deal with Bennett before Christmas, with talks around a one-year extension. It’s understood the club could be open to offering the 75-year-old a further two years, which would tie him down until the end of 2029.
If that eventuates, Bennett will be 79 in the final year of the contract and would have the chance to go past a historic 1000-game coaching milestone. But ARLC chairman Peter V’landys could complicate things for Souths after insisting that Bennett would be ‘the first bloke’ called about a role with the PNG side.
Peter V’landys wants Wayne Bennett to lead PNG side
It’s understood talks between Bennett and the ARLC are already underway, and that V’landys would prefer the veteran to take on the head coaching role at the PNG chiefs. But he’d be happy for Bennett to take on whatever role he deemed ‘suitable’, amid reports the veteran would be leaning towards a consultancy role.
“Yes, we want Wayne Bennett involved,” V’landys told The Daily Telegraph. “You can ask Wayne if he wants to coach, but we will use him in whatever capacity would be suitable to him.”
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has made it clear he wants Wayne Bennett to lead the PNG Chiefs when they enter the NRL in 2028. Pic: Getty
The ARLC’s desire for an experienced coach to lead the PNG side is understandable, considering the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been invested into the Chiefs. It will also be a monumental task to build the new club’s roster from scratch – something Bennett has done previously with the Dolphins.
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But the ARLC’s determination for Bennett to lead the PNG side looks far from straightforward, with Solly insisting back in June that Souths wouldn’t let their head coach go without a fight. “I suspect, knowing how much affection Peter has for Wayne…I am sure Peter would love him to be the inaugural coach for the PNG team. But my message to Peter is we will be fighting pretty hard to keep him at Souths,” Solly said on 2GB radio at the time.