- Parra’s bosses tried to get Wayne Bennett
- The Eels have parted ways with Brad Arthur
- But they were snubbed by the super coach.
It has been revealed Parramatta bosses launched an audacious bid to tempt Wayne Bennett back to South Sydney.
The Eels parted ways with coach Brad Arthur on Monday night after 12 years at the club, with the 49-year-old making a miserable start to the 2024 season.
The 2022 grand finalists are now looking for a new coach, but if that were the case, they would have announced 74-year-old super coach Bennett.
Eels president Sean McElduff has revealed he flew to Queensland with chief executive Jim Sarantinos for talks with Bennett, who has reportedly already agreed a three-year deal with the Souths.
As a result, the couple was disappointed when they met the veteran coach.
The Parramatta bosses flew to Queensland to try to tempt South Sydney’s Wayne Bennett.
“I called him on May 2 and he said, ‘I’m pretty far along in my career with the Rabbitohs,'” McElduff told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I know the club, I know the players and I feel like I have unfinished business there.” For the last 18 days, I have been trying to convince him. At the end of the day, he wants to be with the Rabbitohs. You can understand why.
‘I took a trip to Queensland with Jim to see him. We had many other conversations. I tried with all my might but we didn’t make it. To be completely honest, I always went with the Rabbitohs.
“He is successful, he has won first place seven times, he has experience and he has shown that he can get the best out of his team.” All the attributes you would want in an NRL coach. He’s a brilliant guy, he understands the psyche of the player.”
Bennett is in line to replace Jason Demetriou on the Bunnies starting in 2025, but has vowed not to plunder his current club, the Dolphins, of its star players.
“I’m not taking any of their children who want to stay,” he said.
‘That’s not going to happen. I didn’t build this club to try to destroy it.
“If there’s a guy who’s not being offered a contract or is looking to go somewhere else and I think he can play a little bit, then it’ll be a little different, but I want all these players to stay.”
Bennett said he had not spoken to the Rabbitohs about players he wanted them to re-sign or recruit.
“I haven’t done it because I haven’t signed the contract yet,” he said.
“I need to stay focused here and I think I’ve been pretty good at that.”
The Eels are looking for a new coach after sacking Brad Arthur but failed to land Bennett
Bennett had 18 months to prepare the Dolphins to be NRL ready when he agreed to coach the team at the end of 2021.
Instead, in six months he will be in Rabbitoh pre-season training.
“I’ve moved from several clubs in my life in the same situation, so it’s not new to me,” he said.
‘I have experience in this and I know how to handle it. The key is that everyone knows what is happening. You just get on with life. They have staff there that will take care of everything until I arrive.
‘Ben Hornby is doing a great job there now (as acting coach) and I will certainly want him on the coaching staff when I get there. “It will be an easy transition.”
Bennett is negotiating his own deal and not hiring a third party. He said “you don’t have to worry about managers leaking information now that you make your own deal.” It’s good.’
His change has been a saga for the last three weeks.
He told reporters Sunday night that he would put viewers out of their misery and get the deal signed this week “just for you.”