'Doesn't rate the bloke': Bennett, Seibold still feuding

Thursday night's Dolphins v Manly game means a lot more than the two points to the coaches involved.

Wayne Bennett and Anthony Seibold do not like each other - in fact they have been feuding for several years.

"Wayne doesn't rate the bloke and it goes both ways," a close confidante of Bennett told Wide World of Sports.

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"They would both love to rub each other's noses in it tonight with a win."

The dispute stems back to when Bennett left the Broncos at the end of the 2018 season to link up with South Sydney.

Bennett was of the understanding that the Broncos head coach job would go to his deputy Jason Demetriou, but the Brisbane board went for Seibold instead.

The move angered Bennett, who believed Demetriou was never given a fair crack at the job by the Broncos.

At the time, Bennett commented: "Jason was really disappointed to miss out on the Broncos job. They are a huge club and it's got great prestige, so of course he was disappointed.

"But I was honest with Jason. I advised him not to go for the Broncos interview because he was never going to get the job.

"The Broncos were false on it. Everyone in the game knows the Broncos had their preferred candidate (Seibold)."

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The angst between the pair flared up again in 2020, when the Broncos were struggling under Seibold and Bennett was accused of "ripping in" to his former club.

"How did I rip in?," Bennett demanded.

"Do you call telling the truth ripping in? I told the truth, what am I supposed to do?"

Thursday night's post-match press conferences are certain to be fascinating viewing, with the pair likely to trade barbs yet again.