EVEN Nathan Brown admits the Dragons couldn't pass up the opportunity to snare Wayne Bennett as coach - and St George Illawarra officials last night predicted his appointment would ensure success on and off the field for the joint venture club.

As revealed in yesterday's Herald, the Dragons board opted to replace Brown with Bennett at a meeting on Monday night in the belief he would help attract new sponsors and retain current ones, as well as deliver a premiership during his three-year tenure.

With increased poker machine taxes and smoking bans, the St George and Steelers leagues clubs are both suffering financial hardship - but the Dragons are confident Bennett's presence will boost corporate support and membership. "That's certainly the message I've been trying to get across," St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust said.

"I think the St George Illawarra Dragons have had a very successful 10 years. While we're dealing with hardship at the St George Leagues Club right now, we can't not notice that so many other clubs are doing so as well. I'm really confident we'll work through the issues and prosper out of it. We should all be confident [that] while there has been suggestion about the future of the merger, it will continue to be successful."

After five years with Brown in charge, the appointment of Bennett signifies a new direction for the Dragons, whose coaches usually have an association with the club.

But as the Herald reported on February 8 after the six-time premiership-winning coach announced he was leaving the Broncos at the end of the season, Bennett and the Dragons were a marriage made in heaven.

Brown yesterday indicated he had known since then that his fate was sealed. "I said to Peter that someone like Wayne doesn't come along every day. He's won six premierships," Brown said. "… When someone like Wayne Bennett comes along, it's hard for any club not to show interest.

"When I knew that Wayne Bennett was interested in the job, I knew that it would be hard to turn him back - whether we'd won three from three or were one from three, as we are now. So I've got my head around it."

While Bennett was also linked to the Bulldogs and North Queensland, the Dragons were the club he wanted to coach after his 21-year reign in Brisbane.

"It is a great honour for me to be appointed as the head coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons as they are one of the great clubs and brands of the NRL, with a rich history and tradition," Bennett said in a statement. Despite support for Cowboys assistant Ian Millward, whose father, Bob, abstained from voting on the issue to avoid any perceived conflict of interest, the Dragons board unanimously agreed that Bennett was the best man for the job.

Doust broke the news to the Dragons players yesterday morning when he walked in on a video session at WIN Stadium.

Aside from corporate support, Bennett is expected to be a magnet for players to either remain at the Dragons or move from other clubs. Penrith winger Luke Rooney has already been linked with a switch next season.

Rookie Brisbane wing Reece Robinson is another who may follow Bennett, while the former Australian coach has a strong relationship with a number of representative players already at the Dragons, including Jason Ryles, Ben Creagh, Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper.

Ryles, who played under Bennett during the 2004 and 2005 Tri-Nations tournaments, welcomed his appointment. "I think his record speaks for itself," Ryles told Channel Seven. "To stay at one club for so long … and win so many premierships and produce so many quality players just speaks for itself."

Former Broncos dual international Wendell Sailor, who is set to sign a two-year contract with the Dragons when his two-year ban for cocaine use ends later this month, had mixed emotions about playing under Bennett again.

"Wayne's a great coach … but I'd also feel for Browny because he's backed me for the last couple of years and he's the reason why I'm going there," Sailor told The Newcastle Herald.

The move will allow Bennett and his family to live closer to Sydney, where his daughter, son-in-law Ben Ikin and grandchild are based.