Wayne Bennett and Peter V’landys are at odds over the Kangaroos coaching rule with the master coach taking aim at the ARLC for ruling out up to 19 of the game’s best candidates.
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Bennett was overlooked for the Kangaroos role in favour of former Broncos coach Kevvie Walters, in part due to the fact he is a club coach for South Sydney.
The ARLC have a rule that no club coach can be the Australian coach due to a conflict of interest and the increased demands of the role in modern rugby league.
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However, speaking with The Daily Telegraph, Bennett slammed the rule for robbing one of the biggest jobs in rugby league of some of the best candidates.
“It’s a ridiculous rule,” Bennett told The Daily Telegraph.
“They (the ARL Commission) must think the Australian players can just coach themselves and us NRL coaches are just taking up money and space.
“We want the best players playing for Australia and we want the best players playing Origin – yet we don’t want the best coaches in charge of the national team.”
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Bennett was quick to defend Walters’ appointment, given he was an NRL coach not that long ago and has served his country well as a player.
However, Walters was only made coach on a short-term deal for three games and Bennett is concerned about the long-term future of the Kangaroos post.
“This is not a shot at Kevin, he’s been an NRL coach and he will do a great job, he’s qualified, but what’s the longer-term plan beyond Kevin?” Bennett said.
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“There’s 17 clubs now (in the NRL) and there’s going to be 18 and 19 soon (with the addition of Perth in 2027 and PNG in 2028).
“This policy rules out dozens of coaches.
“You’ve got the best coaches in the NRL and if they want to do it (coach Australia), then they should have the opportunity to do it.
“It’s a silly rule, it’s going to come back and hurt them at some point down the track, I can assure you of that.”
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Bennett fumed that NRL coaches are the best candidates because they keep up with the current trends in rugby league.
“They must think coaches don’t do anything for teams,” Bennett said.
“They think we just get the sack.
“It’s nonsense that a club coach can’t handle the Australian job.
“We only play a few Tests a year, it’s not a full-time job.”
Despite Bennett’s staunch opposition, V’landys is adamant the ARLC policy won’t be changed and defended the rule going forward.
“It’s a conflict of interest, simple as that,” he said.
“If we pick one club coach, all the other clubs are upset.
“An NRL coach is getting paid by their club, so their whole and total concentration should be on that club.
“Even though the clubs don’t say it, they want their coach full-time and the other clubs see it as a conflict because naturally coaches develop a loyalty to players.
“There’s no appetite to revisit the policy.”
