Wayne Bennett gave his word to the Dolphins management that he would not raid their player stocks as he prepares to move to the Rabbitohs next season. However, on Tuesday, Dolphins second rower Euan Aitken became the first player to follow Bennett to the Rabbitohs next season, signing a three-year deal.
Aitken was one of the first to sign with the Dolphins when Bennett was announced as head coach and he will join him at Maroubra next year. Aitken’s contract with the Dolphins expires at the end of this season but the club apparently wanted to keep him and offered him a one-year contract extension, which he ultimately did not accept.
After agreeing a three-year deal with Souths, the 74-year-old vowed not to take anyone the Dolphins didn’t want to keep. And it could now be argued he has broken that promise, with the Dolphins reportedly wanting to keep Aitken. “I’m not going to take any of their guys that they want to keep,” Bennett said in May after agreeing to coach the Rabbitohs in 2025.
“That’s not going to happen. I didn’t create this club to destroy it. If there’s a player they don’t offer a contract to or who wants to go somewhere else and I think he can play a bit, that’s something else, but I want all those players to stay.”
The 29-year-old has played in 192 games in midfield and second row and has become one of the NRL‘s most underrated left winger during his time at the Dolphins. And Rabbitohs head of football Mark Ellison said he was delighted to bring such an experienced player to the Rabbitohs. “Euan is a proven player at NRL level and has also played representative football, all ingredients that will add experience and ability to our forward team over the next three seasons,” he said in a club statement.
“He is uncompromising in defence and can find the goal line in attack. We are delighted to bring Euan to our club for the 2025 pre-season and beyond.”
Wayne Bennett has a long history of players following him
Aitken is the latest in a long list of players to have followed Bennett into the NRL, most notably Darius Boyd, a former Maroons and Kangaroos try-scoring phenom who followed the super coach his entire career. Boyd first played under Bennett at the Broncos, then followed his mentor to the Dragons in 2009 before rejoining Bennett at the Knights in 2012. He eventually asked to be released by the Knights to play under Bennett again in Brisbane.
The only time he wasn’t under Bennett’s guidance was the final two years of his career after the veteran coach was fired by the Broncos. And Boyd is far from the only one, with Beau Scott, Jeremy Smith, Jaydn Su’A, Jeremy Smith and most recently Kodi Nikorima, Mark Nicholls and Tevita Pangai Junior change clubs to continue playing under Bennett.
Tevita Pangai Junior signals intention to work with Wayne Bennett again
Pangai Jr. has broken his silence on his move from the Dolphins to the Catalans Dragons, saying if it was up to him he would have followed Bennett to Souths. Pangai Jr. has signed a one-year deal with the Super League club and will leave the Dolphins at the end of the season.
Dolphins’ Souths-bound mentor Bennett reportedly wanted to bring Pangai Jr. to Redfern from Redcliffe, but the Rabbitohs’ salary cap prevented the super-coach from making this happen, opening the door for a potential Catalans exit.
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And although he insists he is committed to his 12-month stint overseas, the former NSW Origin forward has already signalled his intention to rejoin Bennett as early as 2026. “I would love to retire in Australia,” Pangai Jr said. News Corp“Yes, that (going to Souths in 2026) is an option if the old guy (Bennett) wants me.
“If Uncle Wayne wants me at Souths, of course I will look at it, but it is still a long process. I want to go to France, get my body in shape and play my best football for the Catalans. I am looking forward to playing in the Super League and then I will see what is possible after this trip.”
