NRL urged to change rules as Wayne Bennett puts hand up for Australia job

The NRL have been urged to change their stringent criteria regarding the Australia national team coach so that Wayne Bennett can take the job for a third time.

Bennett has led the Kangaroos on multiple occasions in the past, leading the nation in 1998, as well as between 2004 and 2005.

He has expressed interest in taking the role again with an Ashes tour looming at the end of this year, and there is no doubting he would be a popular appointment – but there is a catch.

The rules of the NRL and ARLC dictate that nobody with ties to a club role can coach the Kangaroos. They believe it does not give any national team coach the time and focus to prioritise the Australia role.

That would effectively rule Bennett out of the mix for this year’s series given how he is head coach of Souths. But there have been demands from many to allow a change to give Bennett a shot as the Kangaroos still debate a decision over who will replace Mal Meninga.

With Brad Fittler withdrawing from the running, former Australia captain Cameron Smith is now widely considered to be the favourite. He has indicated he would be willing to have talks over the role.

But journalist James Hooper told NRL 360 that the ARLC’s focus should be on appointment the best man for the job – and that could mean looking into the NRL for possible options, with Bennett high on that list.

“I think they need to get the best candidate in all seriousness, and if that means changing this outdated rule that we can’t have a club coach anymore, so be it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have an issue if it was Wayne or Ricky (Stuart) or (Craig) Bellamy.”

But former Kangaroos prop Gorden Tallis warned that Souths may not willingly let their head coach take charge of the tour anyway, even if the rules were tweaked.

“If I am in charge of a club and my guy is going to go away and not help set up a pre-season and have my guys ready for March, he’s not doing it,” Tallis said. “I pay him the bigger slice of the pie, so you either pick one or the other.”

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