By Nick Wright
Once the talismanic enforcer of the Broncos’ right edge, Ben Te’o says he has the tools to help salvage a Brisbane club in disarray, and transform its forwards into one of the NRL’s most lethal packs.
The former State of Origin star’s time with the Dolphins came to an end after he coached Redcliffe’s 34-20 Queensland Cup grand final defeat to Norths Devils on Sunday, and he was now bracing for a Red Hill homecoming as an assistant to Kevin Walters.
At 37, Te’o is highly regarded as one of the game’s leading up-and-coming mentors, having juggled his Dolphins’ commitments with his Queensland Maroons under-19 duties.
Former Broncos player Ben Te’o spent years being mentored by supercoach Wayne Bennett.Credit: Getty Images
He thrived under the tutelage of Dolphins head coach Wayne Bennett, but said it did not take much probing from Walters to get him back in Broncos’ colours - the club for which he played 96 games.
“Kevvie is a pretty good salesman, and pretty good at tugging on the emotion of it,” Te’o said.
“There’s no doubt I’m a Bronco; it’s the team I wanted to play for, it’s the team I came back to, it’s a pretty special place for me.
“I had to go somewhere else to do my coaching apprenticeship, but he said to come home and give him a hand in any way I can.
“It’s been a tough one for my kids, they jumped on as Dolphins and now have to change. But I think it’s the right thing for me to go back there.”
Te’o will join a Broncos coaching ensemble in need of a revamp, after the departures of John Cartwright (Hull FC) and Lee Briers (St Helens).
And the seven-time Queensland Maroon was adamant his exposure to some of the greatest minds in rugby league – and rugby union – would enable him to get the best out of Brisbane’s flailing forwards.
Losing 2023 grand finalists Thomas Flegler, Kurt Capewell and Keenan Palasia left gaping holes in the Broncos’ engine room, as Brisbane went on to run for the fewest post-contact metres in the competition – their heroics of last year forgotten as they slumped to 12th.
Brisbane lacked an intimidator in the Flegler-Shane Webcke mould – a trait Te’o became renowned for during his playing days.
After winning the 2014 premiership with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Te’o crossed codes to the 15-man game – plying his trade for Leinster and earning 16 Test caps for England through his mother’s heritage, as well as two appearances for the British and Irish Lions.
Those teams were all champions in their own right, and Te’o planned to draw on those experiences to rewrite the Broncos’ ship.
“There’s a lot of talent, and I know them pretty well. I played with a lot of them, a lot of them were coming through the grades as I was there and as I was leaving,” Te’o said.
“But that word ‘potential’ has been thrown around a lot, and whatever I can do to help, I will.
“I think I’ve been exposed to a lot, and probably my time in rugby union opened me up to how to get the best out of a team tactically, but my rugby league backing is obviously what comes in with heart and all that.
“I’m meshing it all together.”
Te’o was set to join the NRL coaching ranks confident he had the ability to control a group, having recruited to build the side as his own.
Injuries and first-grade call-ups kept his Queensland Cup squad changing.
But he appeared to instil a determination in his men – the Dolphins’ preliminary final golden-point triumph of the ladder-leading Northern Pride, a clash in which star fullback Trai Fuller suffered a ruptured ACL, the leading example.
Whether a career as an NRL head coach beckoned for Te’o remained to be seen.
“It’s been three years of coaching now after I retired from the NRL. Three years under Wayne Bennett being mentored, and three years of having my own side,” Te’o said.
“Now it’s time to go to the next level. I put this [Redcliffe] side together, I went out and found a lot of these guys from New South Wales or different sides.
“I think when I decided to coach I had good reasons for why I wanted to do it, it’s one of the reasons why Wayne let me come over to the Dolphins.
“I was big on making sure I went my own route, that I went the long way and came through the grades. Wayne told me I needed to have my own side and learn how to manage men.
“One day the right team will find me, and we’ll be a good match.”