It’s not what you know, it’s who you know…
Roy Masters of the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that a phone call from Wayne Bennett to News Corporation boss Lachlan Murdoch has paved the way for Bennett to return as the Brisbane Broncos coach in 2015.
Master writes that current Broncos coach Anthony Griffin was told on Sunday that he would not see out the final year of his contract at the club.
This all seems pretty under handed by Wayne Bennett if it is true. While it’s being reported that he would not accept any job held by a current coach it seems like that hasn’t stopped him from manoeuvring behind the scenes to get the Broncos board on side, to work around Broncos CEO Paul White who has stated he supports Anthony Griffin retaining his job, he has even rang the boss of the company that owns 67 of the Broncos to make the deal happen.
The only thing Bennett hasn’t done is pull the trigger on Anthony Griffin himself!
Bennett will reportedly be given free reign over the Broncos, having the power to bring in his entire coaching staff. That in itself isn’t a shock, it is a move any coach would want if they joined a new club. What is a shock are suggestions that the Broncos may allow Bennett to select the next CEO of the club, and when he moves into a coaching directors role at the end of his contract he will be allowed to select the next Brisbane Broncos coach.
Part of me hopes that none of this is true. I would hope that Wayne Bennett hasn’t done any of this. I hope that he comes out today, blows all of this speculation out of the water and joins a different club just on principal.
I would also hope that the Brisbane Broncos, one of the great clubs in Australia sport, has not dropped to his knees like this for a former coach who tried to walk out on them once to coach the Roosters, who then walk out on them to join the Dragons, who then turned them down to join the Knights, and would only come back if he could have complete control of the club.
The Brisbane Broncos, coached by Anthony Griffin, current sit in 6th position on the NRL ladder after a gutsy win over the New Zealand Warriors on the weekend. The win came despite the fact Griffin chose to stand three players down for disciplinary reasons, a move that was brave for a coach under so much pressure.
The Newcastle Knights meanwhile, coached by Wayne Bennett, sit down in 14th place on the NRL ladder after losing at home to the 12th placed Gold Coast Titans.
In Rugby League, sometimes things just work out. The planets align, changes are made, and you get the feeling that the football gods just want things to fall into place.
At other times, big moves happen for other reasons. Secret meetings behind closed doors, power plays, emotions, insecurities and backstabbing are the order of the day.
If Wayne Bennett is coaching the Brisbane Broncos in 2015 there is only one way it has happened.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
