Ugly claims are being made about Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett as his side NRL Form film falls with its Decision to join the Rabbitohs next seasonAfter looking like championship contenders at the start of the 2024 season, the Dolphins have faltered, winning just three of 12 games since Bennett’s contract to return to Souths was announced in May.
It’s no secret that the super coach has started pulling some strings behind the scenes at Redfern in recent months, despite still running the Dolphins, and he’s made some moves that haven’t gone down well with Dolphins fans.
Bennett initially vowed not to raid the Dolphins’ player stocks after agreeing to join the Rabbitohs. But both second rowers Euan Aitken And promising young striker Lachlan Hubner have agreed to follow Bennett from the Dolphins to Souths next season. He was also reportedly involved in the signing of Manly halfback Jamie Humphreys, dealt with the Latrell Mitchell white matter saga and had a big say in the decision to release star hooker Damien Cook resigned from his contract a year earlier.
On Monday, The Daily Telegraph Phil Rothfield said in a column that Bennett has been working two jobs since agreeing to return to the side he coached to two preliminary finals and a grand final from 2019-2021. “When Wayne Bennett signed (with Souths) after round 11, the Dolphins were in fourth place with seven wins from 10 games,” Rothfield wrote. “Since he signed with Souths and left his fingerprints all over what happened there and is preparing for next year, they have won three of 12 games and are close to being eliminated from the finals race.
“I challenge anyone in rugby league to have two jobs at the same time, whether they’ve won six or seven championships or are a super coach. If you’re the figurehead of a rugby league club and you’re going somewhere else next year, you just can’t do that. You can’t do that in any work environment… The bottom line is you can’t have two jobs in any workplace.”
Was Wayne Bennett too loyal in selecting his team?
However, The Australians Brent Read told NRL360 that the Dolphins’ decline had more to do with Bennett’s lack of adaptability and over-loyalty to last year’s group of players, rather than his divided attention. In particular, Read pointed to his failure to respond to dips in form from Isaiya Katoa and Kodi Nikorima in 2024.
“I have no problem with what he did (regarding Souths). I don’t think the Dolphins’ problem is that Wayne was distracted by Souths,” Read said. “Their problem is that they lost Flegler, who was hugely important to them as their forwards age.”
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“I would say the other problem Wayne had is that he was too loyal to his halves. I think Katoa needed a break a long time ago, as did Kodi Nikorima. He was too attached to his halves for too long.
“I understand that the looks aren’t great, but I don’t necessarily think that the looks are a reflection of what happened to them. What happened to them is a different issue in my opinion. There are other things that come into play. It doesn’t look great, but I don’t think he lost his place in the locker room.”
