Wayne Bennett has arrived home, pledging to help return the aura to his Brisbane Broncos and confirming this would be the final stop in his storied coaching career.
Bennett held court at Red Hill on Monday morning for the first time in his second stint as Broncos coach. His original reign yielded six titles in 21 years. Now he will be tasked with restoring the club as a premiership force.
After coaching St George Illawarra and Newcastle, Bennett said this would be his final destination and when he finished his work at the Broncos, would have no involvement with any other NRL club.
"I'm back to stay. I spent 21 years of my life here. It's always been important to me. When my coaching time is finished, I won't stay one more day longer than I should. It's not my intention to coach anywhere else or become involved in any other club," he said.
Bennett didn't waste any time in addressing some of the key issues facing Brisbane, who were tipped out of the finals by the Cowboys in the first round and have struggled to keep in touch with the elite outfits in recent seasons.
He said he would scrap current system of co-captains, with Anthony Griffin having Corey Parker and Justin Hodges share the duties. And he said he would love to see Darius Boyd and Russell Packer in Brisbane colours next season.
If Boyd did return to the Broncos and follow Bennett to yet another club, he would immediately become the first-choice fullback over Josh Hoffman and Ben Barba, both of whom face uncertain futures.
"They all bring different things but Darius Boyd is the best of them all. His reputation would suggest that his form over the past six years since he's been away has been outstanding most years," Bennett said.
"He brings the qualities that teams need. Josh and Ben did a great job at different stages this year as well. If we finished up with one of them at fullback we can manage that. Darius is not here, Josh Hoffman is. That's the reality. If Darius comes here we'll make another decision."
Boyd continues to recover from depression and Bennett said while he had been in constant touch with the Queensland winger, there had been no concrete football discussions.
Packer remains in jail after being convicted of a brutal assault in Sydney and his future in the game will also be determined by the NRL, which would need to decide whether a contract can be registered immediately upon his release.
"Russell, we're very much in the hands of the game and also what Russell's decision is. We don't know what he wants to do either," Bennett said.
Ben Hannant's Brisbane contract has now expired and Bennett was unable to confirm whether the former Queensland and Australian prop would continue at Red Hill next season. "He hasn't been re-signed. His contract has finished at this point in time so I'm not sure," Bennett said.
Bennett met players and staff on Monday morning and said he wasn't going to be making any predictions about outcomes in 2015. Instead, he wants to ensure the pre-season ticks the correct boxes and Brisbane start strongly in the early rounds next year.
