A day after he was officially told he would be out of the running to be the next Australian Test coach, Wayne Bennett has been axed from the NRL’s Competition Committee.

Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire will take Bennett’s place and join Trent Robinson on the 11-member panel that decides important NRL rule changes.

It follows a vote by all 16 NRL coaches after seven coaches put their hands up for the job.

The two coaches will be on the Competition Committee for a two-year term.

NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg said in a statement:

“The coaches collectively wanted to vote for their own representatives on the Competition Committee and Trent and Michael will no doubt be important voices in the group.

“It is also important to bring some diversity to this group, which is why the structure of the Competition Committee was altered.

“Michael Maguire will bring a new voice to the room, along with Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith and Jillaroos skipper Steph Hancock.

“This group is charged with recommending some of the most important decisions in the game, so it is critical to have the sort of experience and knowledge that those representatives bring, along with the likes of Darren Lockyer.

“The coaches were fully supportive of this process and I’d like to thank all the seven nominees who were put forward for positions.

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“We have an incredibly strong coaching group and I’m sure Trent and Michael will be exceptional representatives of the group on the important Competition Committee.”

Greenberg also thanked Bennett for his service through his time on the Competition Committee.

The new 11-member Competition Committee will comprise:

• NRL Head of Football (Chairman)

• NRL Chief Executive

• ARLC Chairman/Commissioner

• NRL Referees Elite Performance Manager

• Two nominated NRL Head Coaches (Trent Robinson and Michael Maguire)

• One former coach (minimum 200 matches)

• One former player (minimum 300 matches)

• Kangaroos captain

• Jillaroos captain

• RLPA representative