Legendary coach Wayne Bennett must inspire his distracted trio if South Sydney is to turn it all around

We’ve marvelled at the remarkable management skills of Wayne Bennett for decades, but does the septuagenarian still have the reach to inspire three minds that could re-ignite South Sydney’s season?

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There a thousand complex questions hovering over the NRL and some simple ones about to surge to the front of the agenda.

Like Wayne Bennett, have you still got it?

We are talking about the magic touch that can turn wayward, distracted or tortured souls into premiership winners.

Right now Souths coach Bennett has three of them on his books.

James Roberts has been in rehab due to mental health issues.

Cody Walker was cleared by police over a street fight, but faces sanctions from the NRL.

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And then there’s the gifted but flighty Latrell Mitchell, who was the centre of a storm over social-distancing breaches on a farm and now his suspect fitness levels.

Through the decades, Bennett pulled off some remarkable feats of man management when he was a father figure to his players.

Can he, at age 70, become a grandfather-like figure capable of the same impact on players almost half a century younger than he is?

Souths are the “anyone’s guess’’ team of the season.

Rabbitohs head coach Wayne Bennett watches Cody Walker during a training drill.

If everything goes right they could win the competition. If everything goes wrong they could run last. Neither result would shock.

This sort of extreme variation — rare in rugby league — is aligned to the fact that Roberts, Walker and Mitchell all knock around together and could well rise and fall as a unit.

If they become the Magic Men, Souths could win it. It they turn into the Millstone Men, the Rabbitohs will completely implode.

Bookmakers have Souths at $15 to win the premiership.

The collective challenge of the three free-spirited backline studs is accentuated because they will be playing behind a pack which is nothing more than average. They will not be gifted free time and space. Nothing will come easily.

Does Mitchell have it in him to grind it out? Has Roberts peaked for good and is now a lost cause? We will know soon enough.

Bookmakers have Souths finishing in the middle of the pack ($15 to win the premiership), which is their way of saying they have no idea whether they will peak or crash.

Here is the problem for Bennett. When he had Roberts on his books in Brisbane he guided him through to State of Origin ranks by allowing him any amount of slack on disciplinary standards.

The gamble worked. Coaches can sometime do that with a sole maverick talent, but three at one time?

For almost four decades Bennett has said to players “better to go a year too early than a year too late’’.

Many a star player was cut on the strength of it.

Has Bennett finally run of out tricks to save Souths?

Latrell Mitchell (behind) and Cory Walker at Redfern Oval.

Bennett did admirably last year to guide Souths to the preliminary final but at some point he may need to confront his own advice.

Increasing Bennett’s concern is that Souths lack leaders.

There’s no John Sutton or Greg Inglis. It’s fine having Sam Burgess sitting beside Bennett in the coaching box, but he really needed him on the field.

Sutton is easily forgotten but he was a premiership captain and a magnificently underrated club man who was hugely respected by the players.

Who is that figure now?

One thing Bennett has in his favour is the simplicity of his game plan in a contracting world.

With the widespread culling of assistant coaches, the pressure is on for coaches to deliver less sophisticated game plans.

As Ben Ikin pointed out, this will suit Bennett because his game plans were simple anyway — it was always seen as one of his strengths because no rugby league coach ever lost his job underestimating the intelligence of his players.

If Bennett can pull the Rabbitohs out of a hat this winter, it will be one of his greatest achievements.

MORE NRL

RABBITOHS IN HOT WATER: WALKER SUSPENDED OVER FIGHT VIDEO

BENNETT: HOW THE BRONCOS WENT BEHIND HIS BACK

NRL EXPANSION: BENNETT BACKS ANOTHER BRISBANE TEAM

THE GOOD

Olympic boss John Coates apologising to athletes for the stress and anxiety caused by the late postponement of the Tokyo Games. With everything else that was happening, this issue was underplayed. The Olympics are likely to learn from their mistake and make an earlier call on whether the Games go ahead next year or not at all.

THE BAD

Don’t worry about the pay cuts to star athletes. It’s the backroom staff culls which are breaking hearts around the country — assistant coaches, dressing room helpers, marketing assistants. Many were on small bickies but just loved their jobs.

THE UGLY

The decision by Izack Rodda, Harry Hockings and Isaac Lucas to terminate their Queensland Reds contracts in the middle of the season.