There is a faction at the Red V that doesn't want anything to do with a Wayne Bennett second coming, stemming back five years to when the super coach famously reneged on a handshake deal to return to St George Illawarra, reveals Sydney Morning Herald columnist Andrew Webster.
Bennett's name has been listed in several reports as a candidate to replace Paul McGregor despite the fact he remains on contract with South Sydney until the end of next season.
The seven-time premiership-winning coach has publicly declared his intentions to see out his deal at Redfern, but that hasn't stopped word spreading that he could be the perfect fit to develop Dragons interim coach Dean Young.
Bennett famously took the Dragons to an iconic premiership in 2010, but in the decade since bad blood has reportedly festered among a faction of powerbrokers who have never forgiven the 70-year-old for rescinding on a handshake agreement to return to the Red V after his stint with the Knights.
He instead opted to return to the Broncos in 2015, which Webster believes irreparably burned the relationship between Bennett and the Dragons.
"There has been speculation for a number of months that Wayne Bennett would come back and come in as a mentor to Dean Young," Webster told Sky Sports Radio's The Big Sports Breakfast.
"But there are still people at that club who are not that keen to see the super coach come in.
"They still remember from five years ago when he reneged on a handshake agreement with Peter Doust to come back and coach the side and decided to go to the Broncos at the last moment after Lachlan Murdoch had called him.
"Some people at the Dragons are a little bit chastised about that."
Current Dragons assistant and former Sharks premiership-winning coach Shane Flanagan has been suggested as a possible replacement for McGregor, but his head coaching ban doesn't expire until 2022.
While there was a suggestion earlier this year that the Dragons could lobby the NRL to have Flangan's sentence softened, Webster said there was now no chance of that happening.
"I spoke to the NRL yesterday and there was no appetite for Shane Flanagan to have his ban reduced," Webster said.
"I read with interest that the Dragons will approach the NRL to get clarification, but I don't think that Flanagan is the answer next year.
"I don't think he can be. I think he should sit out his suspension until the end of next season."
Webster said Roosters assistant Craig Fitzgibbon or Storm assistant Jason Ryles were the best fits for the Dragons – but both coaches have ruled themselves out of the running.
"The two that I would have thought were Craig Fitzgibbon and Jason Ryles," Webster said.
"But it has got so far down the track at the Dragons and they have become so entrenched at their respective teams, so that they are not available.
"Is Dean Young the answer? There is talk that he is very highly regarded at the club."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/st-george-illawarra-dragons-wayne-bennett-handshake-deal-paul-mcgregor-news/86cfa694-be59-43ef-8873-71262f5ce229
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