Where’s Wayne?

Wayne Bennett is back holding the reins at the Broncos but the NRL club’s prodigal coach was nowhere to be seen as his players started pre-season training.

Nor was he on hand as Brisbane – with prize recruit Anthony Milford and co-captain Justin Hodges in tow – unveiled their new jersey strip for the 2015 season on Wednesday morning.

Classic Bennett.

After six years in the NSW wilderness, the Broncos’ six-time premiership coach was back to his mysterious best.

While the club advised that the taciturn Bennett wouldn’t be available for comment at training, they didn’t advise he’d be a no-show.

It all looked a typically sneaky ruse when the initial pre-season session, held away from the club’s Red Hill headquarters at Bardon’s Purtell Park, was postponed two hours – making for a clash with the jersey launch.

All so Bennett, just like his 2005 slip out the side-door to dodge the waiting media at the Brisbane Airport after the 24-0 Tri-Nations final upset by New Zealand.

But then a mere 14 players were put through their fitness testing paces, watched by the rest of the coaching staff, including Bennett’s loyal lieutenant Kevin Walters.

Where’s Wayne?

“He’s probably at the farm,” quipped a stalwart Broncos staffer. “He doesn’t need a pre-season.

“He’s fitter than a lot of these blokes.”

Bennett was at Red Hill, not at his Warwick property.

But with beep-testing the order of the day, and won handsomely by hooker Andrew McCullough, his time probably could have been better served solving some of the club’s bigger dilemmas.

Like finding a new front-row big-bopper following a clean-out which led to the departures Martin Kennedy, David Hala and Ben Hannant.

He’s also yet to reveal, if not decide, who will be his skipper next year after saying in September he’d scrap predecessor Anthony Griffin’s co-captaincy arrangement.

Walters admitted he was unsure why Bennett didn’t make the expected short trek from Red Hill to Bardon with his depleted playing group.

With Four Nations representation, off-season surgeries and the jersey launch leaving only a handful of first-graders (not including Ben Barba), the 2000 premiership captain said the head coach wasn’t required.

“He puts a lot of faith in his staff,” Walters said. “He’ll be around tomorrow.

“He’ll be out there tomorrow, don’t worry.”