Bennett, Cheika throw hats into Rabbitohs coaching ring

Wayne Bennett has confirmed he is interested in coaching South Sydney after the club reached out to him about the prospect of a return.

Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly has already been in touch with Bennett, just a day after Jason Demetriou was axed after a calamitous start to this year’s campaign.

“We’ve had some discussions,” Bennett told this masthead. “I wouldn’t be talking to them if I didn’t [have an interest], I wouldn’t be wasting my time.

“I’d know what’s expected of me there, but I’d need to address what players they’ve got and not got. They are the conversations to be had.

“I will worry about all that later when I make a decision on whether I want to do it or not. I won’t worry about the problems I may encounter or the good things I may enjoy there.

“I won’t get ahead of myself and talk to them and get a feel for the place. I need to convince myself it’s what I want to do … Right now, I’m still enjoying coaching.

Wayne Bennett is open to a Rabbitohs return.

“If someone doesn’t convince me of something else, I’ll be staying in coaching.”

Bennett’s contract with the Dolphins expires at the end of the year. While the NRL’s newest franchise would like him to remain in an off-field capacity, the lure of coaching is likely to prove irresistible.

“I’m unemployed at the end of the footy season and I’ve not suggested I was going to retire,” he said.

“I’m keen to do something in the game, I’m not sure what it is right now. This has come up, so I will talk to them about that … I wouldn’t take it on if I didn’t think I could make a difference.”

Bennett has a close relationship with Rabbitohs stars Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray and Damien Cook. The 74-year-old said he left the “Pride of the League” on good terms.

“It was all good,” he said. “A lot of the people are still there from when I was there. I have great faith and belief in those people. We’ll see where those conversations take me now.”

Bennett was responsible for installing Demetriou as his successor and feels for the sacked coach.

“I know he’s a good coach, I know that,” he said. “Something has gone astray there, I don’t know what that is. I’ve had little conversation with anyone at the club for the past 12 months.

‘I wouldn’t be talking to them if I didn’t [have an interest], I wouldn’t be wasting my time.’

Wayne Bennett on South Sydney

“You only look at Ivan Cleary at Wests Tigers. Things were going bad for him there, he got an opportunity to go somewhere else.

“Lots of people would have said at the time he can’t coach or that he’s struggling. That’s not the case.”

Bennett said he had great regard for Ben Hornby, who has been installed as the caretaker coach for the remainder of the season.

“I think the world of Ben, he was captain of the Dragons when I was coaching there,” Bennett said.

Interim Rabbitohs coach Ben Hornby.

“I got him to coach with me at South Sydney. He will be good.”

Demetriou isn’t the only influential figure to leave the club, with chief operating officer Brock Schaefer indicating that he would also exit. The pair are close and Rabbitohs officials are hoping Schaefer will change his mind.

Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Solly confirmed Bennett was a person of interest.

“I know he wants to win premierships, and I know he loves the values the club stands for,” Solly said.

“I think he’s made that pretty clear in his time here, and since then, about his affection for the club, the ownership, board, the management team, so we will certainly be speaking to Wayne because he left the place in very good shape when he left, and he was great while he was here.”

Bennett is at the top of South Sydney’s wishlist, but they have shortlisted other targets should they miss their first choice. One of them, former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, has expressed interest.

Sources with knowledge of discussions, talking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality, told this masthead a third party has reached out to Rabbitohs officials on behalf of Cheika to throw his hat into the ring.

Cheika coached Lebanon at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, juggling his rugby union commitments with the Argentinian national team at the same time as his Lebanon gig. He still managed to lead the Cedars to the quarter-final and later went on to take Argentina to the semi-finals of the Rugby Union World Cup the following year.

Former South Sydney player Josh Mansour, who played under Cheika for Lebanon at the 2022 World Cup, believes the former Wallabies coach is the perfect candidate for the Rabbitohs.

“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with,” Mansour said.

“He’d be perfect for South Sydney. He’s a coach that’s very good at bringing a team together. He’s a good man manager. He’s a proven winner. The best trait about Michael Cheika is his ability to instil belief, not only within yourself as a player, but within the team. He’s just extremely passionate about what he does.”

Other potential candidates are Michael Maguire, Steve McNamara and Justin Holbrook.

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