Wayne Bennett

Narrow loss to Kangaroos will do: Bennett

Bennett has joined up with his players at their training camp in Perth, where they are preparing for their first group game against the defending champions in Melbourne on Friday, October 27.

England also play Lebanon and France, with three teams going through to the quarter-finals.

Beaten Broncos feel wrath of Wayne

After a weekend to reflect on their 24-22 qualifying final loss to the Roosters last Friday the Broncos were put through an arduous one-hour field session designed to rectify the frailties that have been exposed early in recent games.

Both Darius Boyd and Tevita Pangai Jnr failed to train with the main squad but are a chance to line up against Penrith with Kodi Nikorima spending the majority of the session in the fullback position.

Bennett still wants more from Broncos

Brisbane dismantled the Penrith Panthers on Thursday night, skipping out to a 28-0 lead before winning 32-18 in an impressive performance at Suncorp Stadium.  

It was the Broncos' sixth win of the season and fourth in a row, helping the men from Red Hill recover from the sloppy 2-3 record they had accumulated after five weeks of the competition. 

‌Now with a week off from club duty, Bennett will turn his focus to his English coaching responsibilities with England's national rugby league side to face Samoa on May 6. 

Boyd 'open' to five-eighth switch

‌Widely regarded as the best fullback in the game, the Brisbane skipper would be taking a huge risk moving out of the position he has played at for the majority of his career. 

His development in the No.1 jersey has been extraordinary in recent years, with the 29-year-old now occupying the position for both Queensland and Australia. 

But all that will be put on the line when halfback Ben Hunt departs the club to join the St George Illawarra Dragons at season's end. 

Kahu emerges as Broncos' field goal specialist

The comments came after Kahu slotted the match-winning field goal in Brisbane's 13-12 win over the Canberra Raiders at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night. 

It was the Broncos' first one-point win in 364 days, with the last coming almost exactly a year ago against the North Queensland Cowboys at the same venue. 

Broncos' Bennett happy with 'scrappy' win

The Broncos led from start to finish on the back of their superior ball-handling skills in greasy conditions, but they had to survive a second-half assault from a Cronulla side spurred on by a parochial home crowd on Thursday night. 

England rugby league coach Wayne Bennett open to picking eligible NRL players for the Lions

Speaking at a media opportunity in Manchester, Bennett also shouldered responsibility for a controversial training camp in Dubai last month being cancelled, saying he did not communicate properly with Super League clubs.

He also said he would not extend his contract with the Rugby Football League before the World Cup, to be held in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in October, November and December.

Bennett hunting Sims and James to bolster pack

Sims is unsettled at Newcastle and is keen to settle at a more established and successful club, meaning there is high possibility of him walking out on the final year of his $400,000 a year contract.

Meanwhile James has reportedly been offered a big money contract by the inter-state rivals, although he is set to reject the deal and finalise a new three-year commitment to the Titans.

Bennett is desperate for a forward leader and might have to settle for only Sims, with James likely to stay put at the Gold Coast.

Renouf fuming over Benji signing

Regarded as Brisbane's greatest centre, Renouf believes using Benji out of position will have no benefit for the club.

“It (signing Marshall) is a deadset joke. I honestly don’t know what Wayne is doing there,” Renouf told The Courier Mail.

“I can’t understand Wayne’s decisions and where the club is going.

“Benji is a six (five-eighth) or seven (halfback) and Wayne is talking about playing him as a centre. I don’t see any benefit to playing Benji Marshall at centre.

Bennett roasts players' 'inability' after Four Nations exit

The match capped off a frustrating tournament for the hosts, who also lost by one point to New Zealand and were unconvincing against minnows Scotland.

"The problem is our inability to continually maintain pressure . . . England are very capable of being a lot better than they are right now," Bennett said.

The super coach bemoaned habits picked up in the Super League as the reason for England's inferiority.