Sam Burgess is relieved the South Sydney Rabbitohs coaching saga has come to an end and is excited to link up with the "iconic" Wayne Bennett.

It was originally announced last month that veteran Bennett, Burgess' coach for England, would join the Souths from 2020 with the Brisbane Broncos insisting he would see out the final year of his deal.

However, the Broncos confirmed on Sunday that Anthony Seibold – who had already agreed to leave Souths to replace Bennett – would take over from 2019.

That paved the way for Bennett, who was sacked by the Broncos to free up Seibold's appointment, to make the switch 12 months earlier than planned, much to the relief of Burgess.

"It's the first time in my career I have not known what was going on," he said.

"A couple of weeks ago I was preparing for Wayne, last week I was preparing for Seebs [Seibold], and Saturday-Sunday I was preparing for Seibold. Today it's Wayne Bennett.

"It has been out of my control and as a senior player all you can do is be calm around the squad and train hard.

"I've been lucky enough to work with Wayne for years with the English team so I know what he brings. He's an iconic figure in the game and I'm excited he is coming in.

"It has been hard not to talk about it the last month or so but all you can control at this time of year as a player is [to] train hard.

"The guys have been positive and it's great for the club that we have a decision now. It has been up and down the last few weeks but everyone is excited now.

"Wayne's just a great coach. He's been around for almost as long as I've been alive so it's a fair old stint. He knows how to manage his players.

"I've only seen him in the international environment which is completely different but obviously he's had a lot of success in clubland and he'll enjoy himself down here.

"He'll really get on board with the history of the club and he'll really galvanise the team."