Wayne Bennett at war with the club he built from the ground

A much younger and ambitious Wayne Bennett may have set the culture and put everything else in place at the Brisbane Broncos but don’t expect him to give a “rats” about their welfare as he sets about launching another NRL club 35 years later.

Bennett knows how Brisbane’s corporate world ticks.

He still has many influential friends from all walks of life to play hardball with the Brisbane Broncos who have had open slather in the city since they arrived back in 1988.

You don’t kick a guy like Wayne Bennett out the door after he has delivered you the only six premierships in your trophy cabinet and set your club up corporately, without expecting payback at some stage.

If you don’t, you are either stupid or naïve.

There’s no doubt the lure of going head-to-head with the once mighty Brisbane Broncos in Brisbane was part of the lure for Bennett accepting a three-year foundation coaching offer from the Dolphins.

Despite suggestions to the contrary, the Dolphins only wanted one man to be their first coach – Bennett.

Why?

Because he knows Queensland’s rugby league landscape better than anyone.

Because he knows the Bronco’s set-up and would stand up to them better than anyone.

And because he is a winner with the experience and knowledge to make sure the Dolphins organisation has a solid foundation for years to come.
Has Bennett declared war on his former club?

It sure looks that way, given his latest player 2024 acquisitions, Herbie Farnworth and Thomas Flegler are both Bronco players.

Bennett needs to recruit more talent for the coming seasons but is it just a coincidence he appears to be targeting Broncos players?

Does Bennett have a grudge against Brisbane, the club he built from the ground up to be the number one sporting brand in the country?

You bet he does.

Weakening the playing depth of his cross-town rivals while strengthening his own playing ranks is not only a great tactical move but also gives him some redemption for the way he was treated by the Broncos.

The Dolphins have a plan that will see Kristian Woolf take the coaching reins from Bennett in 2025 by which time the master coach will have put together a quality squad of players going forward.

Woolf was Bennett’s assistant at the Broncos before venturing to the UK to win three Super League titles with St Helens and is rated one of the best coaching prospects in the NRL when his time comes.

In the meantime, Bennett will continue raiding NRL clubs of player talent and that includes any Brisbane Broncos players who want to jump clubs.

His next target is blockbusting Titans forward David Fafita who would be a huge acquisition for the Dolphins as he is starting to mature and develop into a match-winner.

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