Souths battling PNG, ARLC in bid to keep Bennett beyond 2027

South Sydney is facing some staunch resistance to keeping Wayne Bennett leading the club, with the Australian Rugby League Commission eager to have the supercoach lead Papua New Guinea when it enters the NRL in 2028.

ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has been very vocal about Bennett being “the first bloke” he’ll be calling to lead the Chiefs, in a similar move to when the Redcliffe Dolphins joined the competition in 2024. “You can ask Wayne if he wants to coach, but we will use him in whatever capacity would be suitable to him,” V’landys declared on the topic just recently.

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Conversations between Bennett and the ARLC have already started, too, The Sporting Base understands, but Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly is moving to re-sign the 75-year-old for at least two more years instead.

“We understand the ARLC will be interested in Wayne taking a role with the Papua New Guinea team, but we are very keen for him to stay beyond his current deal,” Solly told The Daily Telegraph.

“Hopefully we’ll have those discussions over this offseason.”

The conversations will be simple: Keeping Bennett to 2029, and giving him the chance to coach 1,000 games.

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There’s been no clear indication from Bennett which way he’d want to go beyond his deal, though he did say some months ago that he’s always happy to do whatever is best for rugby league. Should Bennett see out an extended deal at Souths, he would become the club’s second-longest serving helmsman, only behind the illustrious Clive Churchill.

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“I suspect, knowing how much affection Peter has for Wayne… I am sure Peter would love him to be the inaugural coach for the PNG team,” Solly said. “But my message to Peter is we will be fighting pretty hard to keep him at Souths.”

Nothing formal has been tabled by the Bunnies yet, though they should have something together soon.