Veteran coach Wayne Bennett is set to coach his final game for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in this Sunday's grand final.
The super coach will be gunning for an unprecedented eighth premiership when his Rabbitohs take on the Penrith Panthers in the decider. He has previously won premierships with the Broncos and Dragons in a coaching career which is now approaching 900 games.
His three years at the Rabbitohs have brought three straight preliminary final appearances, and while he is off-contract and has stated his intentions to return to living in Queensland following the season, the Rabbitohs are keen to keep him involved with the club.
That also comes despite Bennett being heavily linked with the NRL's 17th expansion franchise.
The Redcliffe Dolphins are widely reported to be leading that race ahead of the Brisbane Jets and Brisbane Firehawks, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks, allowing the winning bid to hit the November 1 deadline alongside the other 16 clubs ahead of the 2023 season.
While Bennett may be employed again by the end of October, the 71-year-old is being touted for a leadership and potential corporate role, according to The Daily Telegraph, which could see him employed by two clubs at the same time.
โClearly the grand final is everyoneโs priority for this week,โ Rabbitohs' CEO Blake Solly told the publication.
โOnce that is over, we will sit down with Wayne and hopefully we can keep him at the club in some capacity in 2022.โ
It's understood that due to his likely and impending role with the 17th franchise, he would have no say in roster or list management, however, would work with incoming coach Jason Demetriou by phone when the team was in New South Wales, and in person when the team travelled to the sunshine state.
Demetriou will be one of two new first grade coaches next season alongside Craig Fitzgibbon.
A former forward with 267 games of experience playing in England, Demetriou has served under Bennett during his time at Redfern, and is considered the NRL's next breakout coach.
He spent time in charge of the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup, and the Illawarra Cutters in the New South Wales, winning a premiership in Queensland being named coach of the year in New South Wales during 2016, his only year at the club.
Bennett's Bunnies will play the Panthers on Sunday in the grand final.
