NZRL boss hits back at Peter V’landys’ ‘loser’ Wayne Bennett coaching jab
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New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Greg Peters has hit back at Peter V’landys’ jab at Wayne Bennett’s interest in their vacant head coaching role.
The ARLC chairman took a poke at Bennett’s interest in the job, jokingly questioning on Triple M in Brisbane why he would want “to get on a loser”.
“He’s normally a winning coach – why he would want to go and coach against Australia is beyond me,” V’landys said.
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Peters’ response was to the point.
“He can call us a loser if he likes, but we’ll stick with the last result between the two countries,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Peters also confirmed should Bennett take the role, they would not stand in the way of him picking up another club job.
Bennett will stand down as coach of the Dolphins at the end of 2024, and will hand over the reins to Kristian Woolf. He currently does not have a job for 2025.
Peters said the nature of the national role meant a club job wouldn’t interfere.
That stance is somewhat contradictory with their decision to part ways with Michael Maguire, who after signing on as NSW Blues Origin coach, wasn’t re-signed despite leading the Kiwis to a 30-0 flogging of the Kangaroos in the final of the Pacific Championship. Maguire previously juggled his New Zealand coaching job with a role at the Raiders on Ricky Stuart’s staff.
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“At the moment [Bennett has] applied to be head coach of the Kiwis,” NZRL chief executive Greg Peters said.
“Our campaign is a month long at the end of the year. Yes, there’s work to be done during the year with connections to playing groups and monitoring players, potentially camps, but the nature of the role means you could have another job in clubland.
“He’s been here before as part of a successful campaign in 2008. He’s stated his intention to apply, but we’re running the process with the other applicants.”
New Zealand legends Nathan Cayless and Stacey Jones are also believed to have applied for the role.
Bennett has a history of coaching New Zealand sides. He coached the ‘All-Golds’ legends team against the Northern Union in 2007 – essentially a New Zealand v Great Britain veterans game to mark 100 years since the Kiwis first toured the UK.
He was also an assistant under Stephen Kearney when the Kiwis won the World Cup on Australian soil in 2008.
Should he take the role, it would also put him on a collision course with Mal Meninga – who beat him to the Kangaroos role – at the 2026 World Cup.
Peters and the NZRL board hope to fill the role by the end of February.
