Official Craig Fitzgibbon

Capital_Shark

Kitty Master
Joined
May 7, 2006
Messages
18,179
Reaction score
3,041
You don't think Bennett will be coaching the PNG team in 2028? Timing is perfect for it.
He will be 78 in 2028. While I’m not sure whether he will retire or not I don’t know he’d be in on PNG compound living as well as the travel. At the Dolphins he sent his assistant to be head coach for a couple long-distance games – Northern Territory and New Zealand I think.
 
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
10,336
Reaction score
2,495
Location
Sydney
You don't think Bennett will be coaching the PNG team in 2028? Timing is perfect for it.
Yeah fair point, keep forgetting they're putting a team in PNG. Timing does work for sure but he'll be close to 80 wont he, will he still want to keep coaching ?

Might be good him taking a Gus Gould type role to set things up for long term success, something that doesn't require full time work, or even living in PNG full time if he doesn't want too. Bring in a younger coach there for the long term, I can definitely see people using the PNG team as a gateway to another club and just trying to get expereince in the NRL - both playing and coaching.

Bennett would probably help recruitment wise because they're going to need all the help they can get. Going to be very interesting how they recruit players, look at what the Dolphins did, hardly got any big names and mostly older players looking for one last pay day or up and coming juniors. Might need to follow a similar model but the issue might be those juniors once they have 50 games might not want to stick around.
 

apezza

Jaws
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
8,479
Reaction score
7,201
Yeah fair point, keep forgetting they're putting a team in PNG. Timing does work for sure but he'll be close to 80 wont he, will he still want to keep coaching ?

Might be good him taking a Gus Gould type role to set things up for long term success, something that doesn't require full time work, or even living in PNG full time if he doesn't want too. Bring in a younger coach there for the long term, I can definitely see people using the PNG team as a gateway to another club and just trying to get expereince in the NRL - both playing and coaching.

Bennett would probably help recruitment wise because they're going to need all the help they can get. Going to be very interesting how they recruit players, look at what the Dolphins did, hardly got any big names and mostly older players looking for one last pay day or up and coming juniors. Might need to follow a similar model but the issue might be those juniors once they have 50 games might not want to stick around.
Big difference between recruiting at PNG over Dolphins is that is it tax free. So players are effectively doubling their salary (and therefore salary cap).

Not a bad few years sacrifice, living in a compound to come out and multi millionaire.
 
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
10,336
Reaction score
2,495
Location
Sydney
Big difference between recruiting at PNG over Dolphins is that is it tax free. So players are effectively doubling their salary (and therefore salary cap).

Not a bad few years sacrifice, living in a compound to come out and multi millionaire.
Will that be for the entirety of their existence or just to get things going?
 

Gumby

Jaws
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
18,223
Reaction score
4,829
Location
Melbourne
Yeah fair point, keep forgetting they're putting a team in PNG. Timing does work for sure but he'll be close to 80 wont he, will he still want to keep coaching ?

Might be good him taking a Gus Gould type role to set things up for long term success, something that doesn't require full time work, or even living in PNG full time if he doesn't want too. Bring in a younger coach there for the long term, I can definitely see people using the PNG team as a gateway to another club and just trying to get expereince in the NRL - both playing and coaching.

Bennett would probably help recruitment wise because they're going to need all the help they can get. Going to be very interesting how they recruit players, look at what the Dolphins did, hardly got any big names and mostly older players looking for one last pay day or up and coming juniors. Might need to follow a similar model but the issue might be those juniors once they have 50 games might not want to stick around.
I feel a guy like Bennett will work until the day he dies.
 

bort

Jaws
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
Messages
35,157
Reaction score
10,902
Location
IN A BAR
I feel a guy like Bennett will work until the day he dies.
Eventually we will find out in post game coverage he actually died 5 mins into the second half and the assistant took over

Camera will have panned to him multiple times during the half and commentators say he has his usual expression
 

Gards

Jaws
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
19,137
Reaction score
3,084
Location
At the Tucky
The most impressive thing about him is his ability to coach a first grade rugby league team alongside producing and directing Hollywood movies
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2023
Messages
489
Reaction score
347
He will be 78 in 2028. While I’m not sure whether he will retire or not I don’t know he’d be in on PNG compound living as well as the travel. At the Dolphins he sent his assistant to be head coach for a couple long-distance games – Northern Territory and New Zealand I think.
He's just bought in a AC that is good at playing good cop/bad cop. A bloke that has worked for Ricky at the Raiders. Dean pay at the dogs, was at souths a few years ago and most recently at Parramatta now back at souths. A thirty year younger version of himself to do some hard yards.
 
Top