Why Mal Meninga will have to choose between Kangaroos and South Sydney Rabbitohs

Meninga oversaw nine State of Origin series wins from 10 attempts with Queensland, but hasn’t coached at club level since holding the clipboard for Canberra in 2001.

“I reckon I can handle it a lot better 1712818754 because I’ve had a lot more experience,” he said.

“But in saying that as well, it’s interim, so it’s only for the remainder of the year if it does pan out that way.

“I took the Kangaroos on a tour for eight weeks for the World Cup. I know I’ve got the necessary skill set to help the club out.

“I always thought in life, you’re given an opportunity, you’ve got to thrash it out, you’ve got to take a breath and at the end of the day you always say it’s something that you’ve got to explore and that’s who I am.

“It would be a challenge. I love challenges. I love winning. I’m competitive.

“Like I said, I’m flattered by it all and if it is authentic, I’ll give it some really serious consideration.

“I’m really happy that I’m the national coach, which is something I cherish.”

During a press conference on Thursday, Bennett told reporters that coaches are inevitably the fall guys when clubs underperform.

“I know Jason is a good coach and something has gone amiss. That is their problem, and they will have to sort it out,” Bennett said.

“The coach takes all of the responsibility and the club takes none. That is the tragedy of all this stuff.

“That is the job we take on. We know that is our life, and we also know it can go pear-shaped very quickly and that is what has happened there.”

In a separate interview with this masthead, Bennett said he hadn’t fielded any approaches from Souths.

“Nope,” Bennett said. “I wouldn’t expect them to because they have a coach there already.

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“I’m not flattered [by the speculation]. It’s a pain in the butt, to be honest with you.”

Asked whether Demetriou should continue in the role, Bennett said: “I can’t answer that because I’m not there. Whenever I worked with Jason I was the head coach.

“Head coaching is different to being an assistant coach, hugely different. I can’t answer that question because I’m not there on the ground.

“But I know he is a good coach, a good person, I had a good relationship with him. After that, I don’t know any more. I’m not in contact with anyone at the club, I have no idea what the politics are … I had a great three years at Souths, really enjoyed it, great club.

“I met some wonderful people, they’ve got great fans. I’ve got no knock on Souths at all, my time was very good to me.”

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