Apr 13th, 2020

Apr 13th, 2020

Premiership winner Jamie Soward has backed the growing push to get Wayne Bennett back to St George Illawarra in 2021.

The hottest rumour in the game is that Bennett will make an emotional return to the big Red V next season - exactly a decade after leaving the club.

The ageless coach led the Dragons to a memorable 32-8 grand final win over the Roosters in 2010 - and it's been pretty much doom and gloom for the famous club ever since.

Soward believes bringing back Bennett, who is set to be replaced by Jason Demetriou as coach of Souths in 2021, would be a quick fix next season.

"Wayne is a great coach - his record speaks for itself," says Soward, who had a breakout season under the master coach in 2010.

"He is a great person and the club would be lucky to have him. They need roster changes but he is capable of making those hard calls."

The postponement of the premiership due to the global pandemic will save embattled coach Paul McGregor's job this season - he is almost certain to stay despite the club's 0-2 start to the year.

Dragons officials were set to review McGregor's position mid-season but with the game in turmoil, that won't be happening now.

Wayne Bennett and Ben Hornby after the Dragons' 2010 premiership. (Sydney Morning Herald)

PLAYERS AREN'T BANKING ON MAY RETURN

The players are pretty good judges of the 'vibe' in rugby league - and sadly most of the ones I speak to believe the proposed May 28 Apollo re-launch won't be happening.

Most of the players are all in favour of getting back on the field ASAP - as you would expect - their livelihoods are at stake.

But with the New Zealand, Victorian and Queensland governments putting up roadblocks and health officials expressing doubts, players I have spoken too think a kickoff four to six weeks later is more realistic.

"Full marks to them for giving it a crack and the Apollo thing has all our support," one player told me.

"But we still can't gather in groups of more than two - to think we can train as a squad and then take on rival teams in the heat of battle in less than seven weeks seems unlikely to me and most of the guys I have been talking to in the game."

Ivan Cleary backs NRL return plan

REFEREE RUMBLINGS STILL RAGING ON

There's still plenty of friction in the refereeing ranks - even when the games aren't on.

The part-timers in the squad are fuming that they are not getting any financial relief, yet being ordered to maintain peak fitness and be ready for a start next month.

They also aren't happy that the full-time refs are still on close to full pay - despite doing nothing to earn it.

The toxic culture in the refereeing ranks - and their problems with consistency on the field and in the bunker - are two of the game's big issues that new boss Peter V'landys will have to tackle when things get back to 'normal'.

Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith. (Getty)

STORM COULD CROSS BORDER FOR HOME GAMES

Don't be surprised if the Storm re-locate a couple of home games to the NSW border town of Albury if the premiership re-launches late next month.

One option the Storm is looking at is basing themselves in Albury as NSW has less strict mass gathering rules than Victoria.

That would also enable players and staff to also be closer to their friends and families in Melbourne.

Albury boasts one of the best grounds in country football in Lavington Sports Ground.

Playing in Albury would mean less travel for the players - reducing the risk of contracting the dreaded coronavirus.

And Albury is also a relatively safe haven - another major attraction to playing games there.

As of last weekend, the city had just seven confirmed cases of the virus - with only one death.