Wayne Bennett signs three-year deal with South Sydney

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have confirmed that Wayne Bennett will return to coach the club from 2025.

The club released a statement on Tuesday to announce the seven-time premiership winning coach has signed a three-year deal.

Bennett had previously coached at South Sydney between 2019 and 2021 and took the club to two preliminary finals in his first two seasons and a Grand Final in 2021 where the Rabbitohs lost to the Penrith Panthers.

“On behalf of the board of the Rabbitohs, we look forward to welcoming Wayne back to the club,” Rabbitohs chairman Nicholas Pappas said in a club statement.

“(We look forward) to finishing off what we got so close to achieving in 2021.”

The Rabbitohs fought off strong competition from the Parramatta Eels who were also eager to land Bennett’s services after they made the decision to part ways with coach Brad Arthur.

Despite a strong roster on paper, Bennett has plenty of work to do at South Sydney who are currently languishing at the bottom of the NRL ladder with a 1-9 record and -186 points differential.

Bennett will finish the season at the Dolphins in 2024 before joining the Rabbitohs.