Veteran coach Wayne Bennett has raised the intriguing possibility of moving to Super League next year but St Helens have played down rumours linking him with the imminent vacancy at Knowsley Road.

The 58-year-old Bennett sparked feverish speculation over his future with today's announcement that he is to quit Brisbane Broncos at the end of the new season, bringing to an end an unbroken 21-year stint at the helm of the Queensland club.

The former Australia coach, who has been earmarked for a role with New Zealand ahead of this year's World Cup, has already been linked with several NRL clubs but he dropped a heavy hint that he may move abroad for his next assignment.

"My intention is to continue to coach - either in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere," he said.

"My time has come - not as a coach - but as the coach of the Broncos."

The only known Super League vacancy on the horizon is at St Helens, where Daniel Anderson is in his final season, but chief executive Tony Colquitt said the club had not yet begun to seriously consider a successor.

"It's very early days," he said. "Daniel has given us plenty of time to look around and we are not very far down that path.

"As for Wayne Bennett, we haven't had any discussions with him and we have no plans to contact him."

Anderson, meanwhile, flatly dismissed any prospect of a "swap" by insisting he intends to work in New South Wales on his return to Australia at the end of the year.

Bennett has in the past been linked with Wigan and, with Brian Noble in the final year of his contract, a move to the JJB Stadium cannot be ruled out.

Bennett masterminded six championship successes in his two decades in charge of the Broncos, coached the Queensland Origin side to several series wins and was in charge of Australia for 16 Tests between 1998 and 2005.

He coached the All Golds to victory over the Northern Union in October's centenary international at Warrington and, following the recent resignation of Gary Kemble, is set for a more active role with the Kiwis.

In a statement, Bennett revealed he told several board members of his decision in December but agreed to a cooling-off period.

Although he is contracted to the end of the 2009 season, he told the Broncos players of his decision to quit early at training today.

Brisbane chairman Darryl Somerville said: "Wayne has always told us he would know when the time was right for him to exit the club and he advised us last night that he believed that time was at the end of the 2008 season.

"We respect that decision and thank him sincerely for what he has done and achieved for the club, and wish him well in the future."