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THE mystery surrounding Wayne Bennett's future took another dramatic turn Saturday when North Queensland officials declared they would wait until after the grand final before announcing their new head coach for next season.
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Why?
"Because the person or persons in the short-list could well be involved in the grand final,'' Cowboys chief executive Peter Jourdain said.
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"It probably wouldn't be fair to either team to have it announced before that.
"We're going to have to go through contract negotiations, so if they're involved in the grand final it's not going to happen that same week.''
Jourdain's frank admission to The Sunday Telegraph did little to silence the consistent rumbling over the past fortnight among rivals NRL clubs that Newcastle's Bennett could be on his way to Townsville.
Jourdain denied Saturday that any deal with Bennett had been done. But clearly, no other coach has been appointed yet either.
"I've always said if Wayne is available of course we'd be interested,'' Jourdain said of speculation that Bennett was their target.
"My understanding is he's got a two-year contract. I don't know any different to that, but if that changed of course we'd be interested.
"But as I said my understanding is he's got a two-year contract, so I would think he's not available.''
At some point Bennett will have to declare his future. Saturday night at Allianz Stadium wasn't the occasion, but last Wednesday was.
Despite being contracted to Newcastle until 2015, Bennett refused to guarantee his future at the Knights beyond the finals series.
"I can't give you an iron-clad guarantee about anything in this game,'' Bennett said.
"Right now, I'm coach here so when that changes, I'll let you know.''
Most saw it as a ploy to deflect the spotlight and focus from his players in the build-up to Saturday night's preliminary final against the Sydney Roosters. And it may have been.
But nine weeks after telling Neil Henry he wasn't wanted for 2014, the Cowboys remain without a coach despite a strong list of applications flooding their inbox over the past two months.
Contenders Paul Green, Kevin Walters and Kristian Woolf have all been interviewed.
It's worth noting that none of them are involved with the grand final.
Bennett's connection to the Cowboys has been widely reported before. His son in-law, Fox Sports commentator Ben Ikin, sits on the Cowboys board and Bennett had agreed to coach the club in 2009, only to backflip on the agreement after the board weren't unanimous in the decision.
The signing of St George-Illawarra hooker Cameron King last week on a three-year deal to the Cowboys also led rivals officials, including some at the Dragons, to believe he was leaving with one year left on his contract at Saints to possibly link up again with Bennett in Townsville.
King, a former junior Kangaroos hooker, was coached by Bennett in 2010-2011 and was then targeted by him to join the Knights not long after the premiership-winning coach had departed St George Illawarra.
Test halfback Johnathan Thurston also added to the speculation surrounding Bennett last week by claiming: "I haven't worked alongside (Bennett) so it would be great to work alongside him.''
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