Wayne Bennett’s partner says she was called a ‘homewrecker’ when she started a relationship with the married rugby league supercoach.
Dale Cage is still dealing with online abuse seven years after the story broke that Bennett had left Trish, his wife of 42 years and the mother of their three children.
At the time, Bennett was 66 and coaching with the Newcastle Knights where Cage, 22 years his junior, was manager of the club’s doctor’s practice.
The story of Bennett and Cage’s relationship features in a new biography about the NRL coach called ‘The Wolf You Feed’ by Sydney Morning Herald lead sports writer Andrew Webster.
Wayne Bennett’s partner says she was called a ‘homewrecker’ when it was revealed she had started a relationship with the married rugby league super coach. Bennett and Dale Cage, who got together in 2014, are pictured
Bennett’s relationship with Cage was even more controversial because two of Bennett’s children, Justin and Katherine, have disabilities that required full-time care since birth. Bennett is pictured with wife Trish and their children
In an extract published in Good weekend magazine Cage — who was variously labeled “busty blonde,” “secret blonde,” “lively blonde,” and “Benny’s blonde bombshell” in early media coverage — said she faced a deluge of swear words.
“I was called a housebreaker,” Cage told Webster. “I experienced a lot of abuse online at the time, and it still happens.”
The union was even more controversial because two of Bennett’s children, Justin and Katherine, have disabilities that have required full-time care since birth.
Bennett and Trish are still legally married and he considers her his “North Star,” Webster has revealed.
Bennett’s public image has long been that of the loving parent and devoted husband – in 1998 he was named Queensland Father of the Year.
Webster writes, “Bennett had spent years moralizing about human behavior. Now his disloyalty to Trish was seen as the lowest act in the eyes of many—especially those who were struggling.”
Cage was variously labeled a “busty blonde”, “secret blonde”, “lively blonde”, and “Benny’s blonde bombshell” in early media coverage of her relationship with Bennett
One of Bennett’s first encounters with Cage came in late 2013 when the Newcastle Knights – under the troubled ownership of mining magnate Nathan Tinkler – stopped paying their medical bills.
Cage stopped making appointments for players to see her boss, Neil Halpin, and Bennett burst into the doctor’s office just as Cage was leaving.
The pair had lunch that day and, according to Cage, the coach was “surprised by my confidence.” The medical bills were paid and a friendship was born.
“There was an instant connection,” Cage told Webster.
The romance began in early 2014 when Bennett was in charge of the Knights in his final season, a year dominated by a catastrophic injury to backrower Alex McKinnon that left him paralyzed.
As Tinkler’s business collapsed and the Knights imploded, Bennett and Cage grew closer, but apparently no one at the club realized they had become a couple.
Bennett returned to the Brisbane Broncos the following year, where he had won six premierships, and Cage went with him.
In September 2016, Bennett learned that the Sunday Mail newspaper in Queensland was about to publish a story saying he had split from Trish and released his own statement.
“As an NRL head coach and therefore a public figure, I am informing you today of a personal matter and the fact that some time ago I separated from my wife and family home,” Bennett said on Sept. 17.
“I will continue to appear publicly in my role with the Brisbane Broncos, but at the same time ask that you respect my personal privacy and that of my family.”
Two days later, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Cage was Bennett’s new love interest.
Bennett and Cage became the biggest story in Brisbane. Photos of the pair together were popular possessions and there was frequent speculation that they would get married, as well as reports that they were close to separating.
Cage told Webster that she felt constantly judged when she was seen in Bennett’s company.
‘That was the worst time of my life; the whole club was toxic,” she said.
‘He liked me coming to games and events; I wanted to stay home and be a hermit. People took sides and Wayne quickly learned who his friends were and who he wasn’t.’
Bennett’s final stint with the Broncos ended in acrimony and he left the club in 2018 to coach South Sydney – at Trish’s direction.
Trish, who still has a strong influence on Bennett, met the former police officer in the early 1970s when he was playing for Brisbane’s Souths Magpies. They married in 1974 and have not divorced.
The Bennetts still share the responsibility of caring for eldest child Justin, who has Dravet syndrome, a form of epilepsy that affects one in 300,000 children.
The Wolf You Feed: Wayne Bennett – The Man, The Myth, The Mayhem by Andrew Webster is published by Macmillan Australia
The third child Katherine was born with arthrogryposis, which occurs in one in 5,000 births and causes severe joint and muscle stiffness.
Middle child Beth told Webster that her father could not have achieved any of the football accomplishments on his resume without Trish’s support.
“She’s his North Star,” she said. ‘She still is. None of this happens without her.’
Beth is married to former Broncos player and State of Origin mainstay Ben Ikin who is now CEO of Queensland Rugby League. The couple reportedly became estranged from Bennett after he left Trish.
Cage, 51, told Webster that her 73-year-old partner is a man of “very old-fashioned values” and not the arrogant figure sometimes portrayed in the media.
“We can spend days together doing or seeing nothing, and not get tired of each other,” she said.
“When we’re apart, he calls me three or four times a day. From the moment we got together, he calls me every morning and every evening.’
The Wolf You Feed: Wayne Bennett – The Man, The Myth, The Mayhem by Andrew Webster is published by Macmillan Australia on September 12. MSRP: $37.