How NRL coach Wayne Bennett was forced to send his grandkids birthday cards ‘so they know I care for them’ when his daughter stopped talking to him amid his affair with Dale Cage

The only contact NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett has with his grandchildren is through birthday cards after his affair and the breakdown of his marriage tore his once close-knit family apart, a new book has revealed.

The seven-time premiership coach sent shockwaves through the Code in 2016 when he confirmed reports that his 42-year marriage to wife Trish had ended.

Just days later, Daily Mail Australia revealed the identity of Bennett’s new lover as mother of three Dale Cage, 22 years his junior, who he met three years earlier while coaching at the Newcastle Knights.

The new relationship took a devastating toll on Bennett’s relationship with his daughter Beth, who has been married to Queensland legend Ben Ikin for 20 years.

Beth and Ikin sided with her mother Trish, who is the primary caregiver of two adult disabled children she had with Bennett.

Beth’s estrangement from her father brought the private family issue into the public eye.

Bennett’s recently released biography The Wolf You Feed, by journalist Andrew Webster, sheds new light on his relationship with Cage and estrangement with Beth, who was interviewed for the book.

In late 2018, Bennett signed up to coach the South Sydney Rabbitohs after being fired by the Brisbane Broncos and returning to Sydney with Cage.

He was still suffering the consequences of the breakdown of his marriage and the estrangement from his family two years earlier, especially his four grandchildren.

Rabbitohs football manager Mark Ellison shared an office with Bennett during his time at the club.

Ellison recalled to Webster the day he saw Bennett writing on a birthday card during practice.

“Who’s the card for Coach?” Ellison asked.

Bennett replied, “This is for one of my grandchildren.

“My daughter doesn’t talk to me anymore, but I still send them cards so they know I care about them.”

It appears that tensions with his daughter have since eased, as Bennett recently attended his eldest grandson’s 21st birthday.

The book recalls how the grandchildren always called him “Coach” instead of “Grandpa” or “Poppy” – a term Bennett kept harping on.

Webster also writes that Beth still seems “wounded” by her father’s decision to leave her mother for another woman.

Rabbitoh’s football manager Mark Ellison (pictured far right in suit) recalled how Bennett would send birthday cards to his grandchildren so they knew he still cared about them

The NRL supercoach remains estranged from son-in-law Ben Ikin, who is married to Bennett’s daughter Beth

In 2020, during the pandemic, Bennett’s private family feud escalated into the public eye.

His son-in-law, former player turned commentator Ikin, slammed him on Fox Sports for breaching the NRL Code’s strict COVID-19 biosecurity protocols.

Bennett was fined $20,000 after he and Cage were spotted dine at Sydney’s chic Grappa Italian restaurant.

Just days later, Cage caused a media storm after she took a swipe at Ikin in a scathing social media post.

‘People in greenhouses are not allowed to throw stones #just like that. The truth will hurt some people #staytuned #benikin,” she posted on Instagram.

“The self-righteous people scream judgment on others to hide the dancing skeletons in their own closets,” she added, before setting her account to private.

Ms Cage attempted to downplay her Instagram post when Daily Mail Australia contacted her at the time.

“There’s no situation,” Ms. Cage said. “I have no comment.”

She refused to reveal whether she regretted the social media spree that struck at the heart of their strained relationship.

Bennett’s daughter Beth (in pink) was the middle child of Wayne Bennett’s three children with wife Trish

NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett (right) became estranged from his once close-knit family in the wake of his relationship with Dale Cage

The Wolf You Feed: Wayne Bennett – The Man, The Myth, The Mayhem by Andrew Webster is published by Macmillan Australia

A tight-lipped Ikin refused to add more fuel to the fire when contacted. It is unknown what prompted Cage’s attack on Ikin.

The feud flared up again last December when media reports claimed that Bennett had reconciled with his estranged son-in-law Ikin earlier this year.

Cage shared a snippet of the article on Instagram, calling it “nonsense.”

“Wayne confirmed this morning that this is not true!” she posted on Sunday. “He still doesn’t like him,” she added with a laughing emoji.

While Beth ultimately agreed to be interviewed for her father’s biography, Ikin declined, according to Webster.

Although Bennett is unsure whether he and Ikin will make up, he describes Beth as “talking to myself.”

“Beth is me,” Bennett said.

“I call her and it’s like I’m talking to myself.”

Beth believes her father could not have achieved what he did without the support of her mother, whom she called his “North Star.”

“Maybe I can convince you to write a chapter called X Factor and cross out the X and put a T (for Trish),” she suggested.

‘Without her, even though he was single, he wouldn’t have been able to do what he did.

‘We have grounded him. When the crank turned and everyone loved him, he came home and we put him on the sled.

“(Mom) took care of the house and made sure it was all right. He could fully concentrate, knowing he had a beautiful home to return to, knowing he could leave without missing a beat, because Mom made sure everything went smoothly.”

Wayne Bennett (right) still speaks to ex-wife and mother of his three Trish (left)

Bennett and Trish are still not legally divorced and still speak most days, mainly about the care needs of their firstborn. Justin, who is wheelchair-bound, has Dravet syndrome, a rare and lifelong form of epilepsy.

“She’s his North Star,” Beth said.

‘She still is. Without her, none of this would happen.”

When asked if her mother ever spoke poorly of Bennett, Beth replies, “Never.”

Bennett, a notoriously private person, broke down when talking to Webster about Trish

“She’s a special person,” Bennett says of Trish.

The Wolf You Feed: Wayne Bennett – The Man, The Myth, The Mayhem by Andrew Webster is published by Macmillan Australia and released on September 12. MSRP: $37.