Sam Burgess hoses down any emotion over coach swap, declaring the Anthony Seibold era now dead and buried

As Souths players await the arrival of Wayne Bennett, star forward Sam Burgess recalls the time he copped a massive spray from the super coach after a game for England against Australia.

• Seibold: I’ll do things my way’
• Buzz: No choice but to dump Bennett

South Sydney skipper Sam Burgess has wasted no time putting an end to the Anthony Seibold era at Redfern, declaring: “Seibold’s not my coach — we move on.”

Burgess also opened up about a spray he received from new South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett after representing England in the 2016 Four Nations final against Australia.

Burgess fronted the media on Monday a day after Bennett was finally confirmed as Rabbitohs coach for the next three years.

While admitting to being confused during the coaching uncertainty, Burgess said Rabbitohs players had to push forward and erase any “emotion”.

Burgess saw no point in going over it again. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)

“What can you say? It’s a business and it moves quickly,” Burgess said.

“As players, we have to move on quickly (because) sometimes you deal with too much emotion and you get too attached.

“You have to learn to let go quick and grab hold of what’s coming in even quicker.

“It is a business. As of today, we have Wayne Bennett. As of today, Seibold’s not my coach.

“We move on. It’s been up and down, to and from, over the last couple of weeks.

AT least the players now have a degree of certainty. (Brett Costello)

“A couple of weeks ago I was preparing for Wayne. Last week I was preparing with Seibs. Saturday, Sunday, I spent preparing with Seibold. Today I’m preparing with Wayne.

“It’s been a bit of a yoyo. It’s probably the first time in my career that I’ve not known what’s going on.

“Generally, I have a good idea but I had no idea. Now we know where we’re at, we’ve definitely got Wayne.”

Bennett is expected to arrive in Sydney on Tuesday and immediately introduce himself to Souths players and coaching staff.

Burgess said the players were relieved the coaching fiasco had ended.

At least Burgess knows what he’s in for. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

“It was completely out of my control as a senior player,” Burgess said.

As senior players, all we can be is calm around the squad. We’ve smiled about it, we’ve joked about it, we’ve trained hard.

“He (Bennett) is iconic in the game. I have been fortune enough to work with him for years with the English team, so I know what he brings. I think a lot of players will benefit from him.

“He is just a great coach. He has been around for almost as long as I’ve been alive. It’s a fair old stint.

“I think the old fella is due to get into town at some stage during the week. Until then we will hold the fort.

“The boys have been talking about it. It’s been hard not to over the past month or so but we have also been pretty respectful of the coaches that have been here.”

Burgess still remembers the spray he copped from Bennett two years ago after England lost 36-18 to Australia in London.

At the post-match press conference, England coach Bennett snapped: “Sam gives away far too many penalties, I’ll be quite candid with you.

“He does that at South Sydney as well so he needs to change his behaviour.”

Burgess said: “It’s not the first one he has given me, probably not the last one he will give me as well.

“He is an honest guy and wants you to be the best player you can be.

“I think a lot of people thought we fell out over that. We didn’t. It was a sign of respect more than anything.

NRL players are used to the sudden changes and instability. (Phil Hillyard)

“I guess he just gave me a bit of accountability over performance. He will do that week in, week out at Souths, which is fantastic.

“Hopefully he can get the best out of my game.

“Wayne knows what he’s doing. He had a reason for it.

“He told me before he went to the press conference what he was saying. It was no news to me.

“I’m a big enough guy to get on with it. What he said in front of the press is no different to what he says to my face. I’m not too worried about that.”

Every Test, ODI & T20I live, ad-break free during play and in 4K. Only on Foxtel. SIGN UP TODAY!