Wayne Bennett’s ice-cold presser dig as coach explains shock Dolphins move

Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett wasn’t in the mood after his team’s latest loss, delivering a brutal response to one journalist.

Wayne Bennett wasn't pleased in the press conference.

Want to know the golden rule of a Wayne Bennett press conference?

Don’t make him repeat himself.

The Dolphins coach started by praising his side after pushing the Broncos all the way at the Gabba despite an ill-disciplined first half.

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The Dolphins began the game slowly but came firing back to life in the second half, hitting the lead with 15 minutes to go before two tries to Selwyn Cobbo sealed the 24-16 win for the Broncos and moved them to second on the ladder.

“It was pretty gutsy of them to stay in the game actually, the way we’ve played the last couple of weeks,” Bennett replied when asked about the Dolphins’ start to the game.

“Very pleased with their effort.”

Later in the press conference Bennett was questioned whether he felt the Dolphins had turned a corner after conceding 48 points to the Eels and 58 to Manly in their last two matches.

Bennett, however, was not impressed at having to go over old ground.

Wayne Bennett wasn't pleased in the press conference.

“I just said that when I first came into the conference. Were you not listening to me?,” Bennett fired back.

The master coach pulled a selection surprise in the lead up to the Battle of Brisbane when he switched Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow from fullback to the centres with Kodi Nikorima pulling on the No. 1 jersey.

Nikorima bagged a try and racked up 128 run metres, with a game-high eight tackle busts in a strong performance despite one mistake under the high ball.

But Tabuai-Fidow’s influence was restricted in the new position, with just eight runs for 56 metres.

Bennett explained the move after Saturday’s match.

“Hamiso is one of the best fullbacks in the game but we’ve got a problem in the centres at the moment and we had to do something about it,” he said.

“He can handle that position and I thought he did a really good job there.

“Kodi is a very competent fullback so I didn’t think he let us down. He dropped one ball there but that’s par for the course when you’re playing that position.

“It was our best options on the night but I think we did a pretty fair job at those positions.”

The Dolphins have now lost four in a row as their finals hopes teeter, while they were struck down by a pair of injuries in the Battle of Brisbane.

Bennett revealed hooker Jeremy Marshall-King was still battling with a shoulder injury initially suffered in Round 13, saying the star No. 9 could be ruled out for the remainder of the season after his try-scoring, 80-minute effort against the Broncos.

And Felise Kaufusi failed a HIA early in the first half.

Originally published as Wayne Bennett’s ice-cold presser dig as coach explains shock Dolphins move