Wayne Bennett vs sports journalist: Justin Chadwick tells of ‘painful, awkward’ press conference

The veteran sports reporter who went toe to toe with Wayne Bennett in the interview from hell has broken his silence - and he didn’t hold back.

Wayne Bennett.

The West Australian journalist who stood up to Wayne Bennett has labelled the master coach “disrespectful and grumpy”.

Australian Associated Press sports reporter Justin Chadwick created his own headlines after refusing to be intimidated by Bennett during an “awkward and painful” post-game media conference in Perth last weekend.

Irritated his Dolphins side had lost 30-28 to Newcastle, and perhaps aggrieved at some dubious refereeing, Bennett conducted a press conference described in Phil Rothfield’s column as “pathetic, surly and embarrassing.”

Chadwick found he was the only journalist at the post-game media conference because the second game of the double-header, Cronulla versus Souths, had already kicked off.

Rather than buckle when pressured by Bennett, Chadwick asked what he felt were relevant questions.

“It was disrespectful and I’m sure if he had his time over he would handle it differently,” Chadwick said.

“Even if you looked at his body language from the very start, you could tell it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Everything from his body language to his answers were disrespectful. When you give them nothing, I don’t think it reflects well on you or the club.

“I just think he needed to give the fans a bit more. They are always interested in insights from the coach after a game. I was flying solo so I knew I was going to be in for a tough battle but didn’t realise it was going to be to that extent.

“Maybe the fact there was only one journo in there, he was probably thinking: ‘What’s going on here, I’m Wayne Bennett, why is there only one journo?’

“It’s often the case with AAP where we are one-out with a coach or player. Maybe instead of seeing that as negative, he should have thought this is the one journo who is here and maybe shown more respect than usual.

“I guess I’ve had a fair bit of experience over the years with other grumpy coaches or players, so I know in those situations all you can do is put the questions out there; the questions fans would want answers to.

Justin Chadwick dishes on the frosty exchange with Wayne Bennett.

“I was like: ‘I’ve got these questions and I’m going to get to the very end even though it’s so painful and awkward’. You die a little bit on the inside in those situations but all you can do is put the questions out there.

“The ball is then in their court and they can answer them any way they want. Maybe he was also struggling coming to terms with the ending of the match.”

Chadwick had asked Bennett questions before the game and found the Dolphins coach answered with civility.

“It wasn’t anything personal because the day before he was good when answering my questions,” he said. “A lot of it was probably down to the situation in the game and a controversial finish. He would definitely have been feeling the pinch there and no doubt trying to keep his emotions in check.

“Normally he is really good in terms of his visits to Perth. He has come here a lot and is normally respectful and is always talking up Perth as being a good breeding ground for rugby league.”

Originally published as Wayne Bennett vs sports journalist: Justin Chadwick tells of ‘painful, awkward’ press conference