Wayne Bennett has finally officially confirmed his return to South Sydney, declaring: “If Souths are in good shape, rugby league is in good shape.”
“I’m just looking forward to being back there and working with those blokes,” Bennett said on Saturday.
“It’s pretty much a given in Sydney that if Souths are in good shape, rugby league is in good shape. There are some wonderful clubs in Sydney besides Souths. Hopefully, we can come back and be in that [top] group of teams again.”
Dolphins coach Bennett will meet with South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly on Monday to rubber-stamp a three-year, $3 million deal.
Bennett spent three years at Souths, making three preliminary finals, including the 2021 NRL grand final, before long-time successor Jason Demetriou took over.
Demetriou was axed at the start of this month, despite being contracted until the end of 2026, and Bennett was immediately linked with a return to the club.
Wayne Bennett is looking forward to his South Sydney second coming.Credit: Kate Geraghty/SMH
“I like the club, I like the people, I like the players, so it makes it easy,” Bennett said.
Souths are now anchored to the bottom of the NRL ladder, and Bennett is well aware of the challenge ahead.
“We didn’t have a team here [at the Dolphins] last year; I met that challenge, so I’m sure I’m up for this one,” Bennett said.
“I haven’t lost my love for coaching. My contract was up at Souths [at the end of 2021], I had a few things I needed to fix up here in Brisbane, I came home, nobody knew the Dolphins would come into the competition, and I was fortunate to be here at the right time and right place.
Latrell Mitchell shared a close bond with former Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett.Credit: Getty
“I never said I was giving coaching away. You get to a stage where you still really want to do it. I came back, I really wanted to do it, and I still want to do it. It’s the challenge.”
Solly said the Rabbitohs were very close to completing the deal.
“We’re close to an agreement now and that’s exciting,” he said. “Wayne left the club on great terms and in good shape. A lot of us have fond memories of his time at the club, and hopefully we can have more success upon his return.”
Bennett has been able to get the best out of Latrell Mitchell, but said, “you get the best out of all players when they are happy”.
Jeremy Marshall-King has already been identified as a target for Souths, but Bennett hosed down that talk, despite being a big fan of the hooker. “He’s a very good player, but he’s not off contract [at the Dolphins], and we’re doing a new contract with him,” Bennett said.
Charged Raiders not happy
Josh Papalii is facing a week on the sidelines for a dangerous tackle on Viliame Kikau, but Papalii was stunned Kikau avoided being sanctioned himself for a hip-drop tackle on Canberra’s Nick Cotric on Friday night.
The Raiders had three players charged by the match review committee following their 24-20 win over Canterbury in the opening game of Magic Round.
Joe Tapine and Jordan Rapana can escape with $1000 fines for dangerous contact and tripping charges respectively, but Papalii was hit with a grade-one dangerous contact charge for his tackle on Kikau, which will rule him out of next week’s clash against the Roosters should he enter an early plea.
Josh Papalii’s dangerous tackle.Credit: Fox League
Papalii claimed he landed on the ground, not Kikau’s legs, and Kikau’s own tackle on Cotric in the 74th minute was worse. Cotric limped out of the sheds late Friday and complained of soreness in his left leg.
An unimpressed Papalii told this masthead: “His one on Nick Cotric was worse than mine. I didn’t even land on Kikau, I landed on the ground.”
When asked about Papalii’s tackle, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said: “It’s as bad as the one where Nicky nearly broke his leg. Why wasn’t that one picked up?”
What the one-match ban does is potentially force Papalii’s 300th game to be played at Belmore in round 22 – against the Bulldogs and Kikau – rather than a week earlier at home when South Sydney and former favourite son Jack Wighton come to town.
Viliame Kikau’s tackle on Nick Cotric.
There was a lot of emotion in the Raiders’ sheds, with the players joined by members of the 1994 premiership side. The NRL allowed extra members to file into the sheds because of the 30-year reunion.
There was a minute’s silence for the late Quentin Pongia, before Rapana led the haka.
“It was pretty powerful; the majority of our boys are from NZ and have a lot of Maori heritage, so I thought it was the right thing to do,” Rapana said. “Our wrestle room at Raiders HQ is named after Quentin. He’s a legend of the game, and a legend of the Raiders.”
Rapana played his first game in six weeks after overcoming a knee injury, and said if he could not strike a deal with the Raiders for 2025, he would retire.
“I want to keep going, it will be how the body holds up, and if I don’t get an extension with the Raiders, I’ll tell you straight now, I won’t be going anywhere else,” Rapana said.
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