Both the Sydney Morning Herald and News Limited are reporting that Wayne Bennett will be coaching the St George/Illawarra Dragons in 2015 with a deal expected to be worth $3 million over three years.
A mystery private backer is set to give the cash strapped Dragons the ability to pay Bennett (Because that worked so well up in Newcastle) as well as the Brisbane Broncos reluctance to sack Anthony Griffin to give Bennett his old job back.
The interesting thing in all of this is that a few weeks ago when I asked the question Is Wayne Bennett The Right Coach For The St George/Illawarra Dragons? the vast majority of people that responded on social media said no. The general feeling among Dragons supporters is that Bennett left the team in a bit of a state, they know he won’t be at the club long term, and they don’t want to go through the post Bennett rebuilding effort that the Broncos, Dragons and now Newcastle Knights will be facing when he leaves the club.
I thought it was a little bit ridiculous that anyone expected Bennett to stay in Newcastle. He went there for the money (There is nothing wrong with that by the way!) and when Nathan Tinkler’s money dried up there was simply no reason for Wayne Bennett to be there any more.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the New Zealand Warriors take a stab at getting Bennett on board. While Andrew McFadden is under contract, they have very wealthy owners who would happily absorb McFadden’s contract and pay Bennett a huge amount of money in an effort to get the Warriors to the promised land. Having said all that, the planets really do seem to be aligning for a smooth return to the Dragons.
Now to see how Dragons fans react to more concrete news that Benny is coming back!
