Every off season NRL coaches are invited to attend a forum with the NRL to talk about issues within the game as far as rules go. This lets coaches be involved in the decision making process and get their points of view across on anything from game scheduling to rule interpretations.
Wayne Bennett doesn’t attend these meetings.
So last week when Bennett decided to use a newspaper column to voice his opinion about the new obstruction rule interpretations it was typical Bennett.
After his article however the NRL called a phone hookup with all 16 NRL clubs to talk about the controversial rule. It was a proactive step by the NRL they should be commended for.
Bennett however didn’t take up the opportunity and wasn’t involved in the hookup. He later told the NRL he couldn’t get through…
Its one thing to voice a concern. Its another to sit up there in Brisbane and whinge!
Now Bennett has another problem!
The Broncos will lose players this season as they look to leave the club and sign elsewhere for more money. This may be just another occurance in every day life for other clubs, but when it happens to Wayne Bennett, you know its time for him to whinge.
So now, something is wrong and it needs fixed according to Bennett!
All of these young Queenslanders that the Broncs have signed up from all over the state now are moving on and Benny doesn’t like it and wants changes to the rules once again.
He tried the same thing when Wendel Sailor and Lote Tuqiri went to rugby union and a few years later asked “Where are the guys that were supposed to replace them”?
They are around Benny, they just don’t play for your club.
THATS Wayne Bennett’s real problem!
The days when Queenslanders were told they either stuck with Queenslander (Meaning the Broncos) or faced an uncertain future are over. Players told to stay loyal to their state, that they wouldn’t be able to achieve anywhere else.
Then when they got to old or someone better come along, they were given the boot. Loyalty only works one way you see.
Queenslands best now reside all over the League. They flourish in Melbourne, Penrith, North Queensland, The Gold Coast and yes, they still flourish in Brisbane.
But thats not enough for Wayne Bennett.
The era of the “us against them” attitude from the dinosaurs in Queensland Rugby League is over. Now Bennett, along with a couple of other Queensland based officials, are like the Japanese soldiers in the jungle, still fighting a war that finished years ago.
Queensland Rugby League has moved on from those days. Players move between states, fans follow clubs across borders, people see their favorite Origin stars play every week even though they might play for Melbourne, New Zealand or Manly.
Thats not the world Wayne Bennett lives in though. In Wayne’s world everyone it out to get him and the Broncos. Everyone else is wrong and he is always right.
Thats right Benny…..its everyone else thats wrong, because it couldn’t possibly be you could it?
