10 reasons why Bennett’s 2023 with the Dolphins may not be his biggest challenge
It is a debate which raged across the off-season. How will the Dolphins go in 2023 under Super Coach Wayne Bennett? But here are 10 reasons why coaching the team in its NRL debut season might not be the biggest challenge of Wayne Bennett’s career.
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It is a debate which raged across the off-season. How will the Dolphins go in 2023 under Super Coach Wayne Bennett?
While the Dolphins have done remarkably in just 15 months to gather a posse of experienced forwards and representative backs like Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Edrick and Brenko Lee (2020 Qld reps) and Tesi Niu (Tonga), the big signing of say Cameron Munster, Harry Grant or Kylan Ponga never came.
So will 2023 be Bennett’s greatest coaching challenge? It maybe, but here we present nine other great challenges Bennett has faced in his career, and suggest the Dolphins will be better than some people think.
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WHERE IT ALL STARTED – AT SOUTHS
It was 1977 and Wayne Bennett was playing at Souths Magpies where he was on the slide as a player who, earlier in the decade, had played for Queensland, Australia and in a grand final for Brothers.
Incumbent BRL coach, Englishman Tom Berry, had handed in his resignation to Souths president Tony Testa, leaving a mid-season vacancy as first grade mentor.
At the urging of Souths Queensland captain Greg Veivers, Testa approached Bennett who accepted the challenge.
Bennett knew he was at the end of his run as a player, so retired to become a non-playing coach for the first ever time.
That was a huge challenge early for Bennett, taking over a struggling side mid-season, but an opportunity he had the courage to accept which sent him on his way. Two seasons later Souths were playing in a BRL grand final under Bennett and the Magpies had been restored for the years ahead as a BRL powerhouse club courtesy of Bennett laying the foundations in 1978 and 1979.
THE 1985 BRL PREMIERSHIP WIN
It is often forgotten one of Bennett’s greatest coaching achievements was taking Souths – beaten 42-8 by Wynnum-Manly 12 months earlier in the 1984 grand final – to the 1985 premiership.
Wynnum-Manly, with Wally Lewis at the helm, were arguably the greatest club side in BRL history.
Indeed it was generally believed at the time that if the Seagulls had been playing in the NSWRL competition in that era, they would have been semi-finalists.
The Seagulls put the cleaners through Souths stock, lock and barrel in 1984 – an era of three point tries.
But the replay grand final in 1985 turned out to be the making of Bennett as a coach.
He learned to win premierships you needed hard workers in the pace, not Flash Dans.
So John Elias, Parramatta premiership winner Chris Phelan (his brother Pat had also earlier played for Souths) and BRL favourite, the cover defending Norm Carr, were recruited – with all playing big roles in Souths claiming the 1985 premiership 10-8 against the all-star Seagulls.
THE BRONCOS FIRST PREMIERSHIP
You may question how hard it would have been to coach a team containing Allan Langer, Kevin Walters, Glenn Lazarus, Steve Renouf and co to the premiership as Bennett did when the Broncos claimed its first title in 1992.
Having those players helped, but consider the environment at the time.
The biggest uproar in Broncos’ history had happened two years earlier when Bennett sacked Wally Lewis from the club.
You had to be around at the time to understand the magnitude of that decision and the debate it caused in the community and around the press.
Then in 1991 the great Gene Miles, Lewis’ ball-running offsider, retired.
So for Bennett to get the Broncos to a historic first ever premiership in a relatively short time after the Lewis’ sacking was indeed a coaching masterstroke.
THE 1998 PREMIERSHIP – THE FIRST SEASON AFTER SUPER LEAGUE
Under Bennett’s coaching the Broncos survived the dreaded post-Origin blues to win the 1998 NRL grand final.
He had caused ripples by stacking the Queensland State of Origin side – whom he was coach of – with Brisbane players in the first season after Super League.
It worked short term, as Queensland won the series, but at what cost to his club’s premiership push across July, August and September?
But in what was challenging year given the harm Super League had caused and the Brisbane’s commitment to Origin, Bennett got the Broncos over the line in another master achievement.
THE 2001 STATE OF ORIGIN COACHING ACHIEVEMENT
Queensland had been beaten, humiliated actually, 56-16 in the final match of the 2000 Origin series.
Such was the impact of that loss, debate raged as to whether Origin would have a future given NSW had won seven of the last nine series, including the last game by a record margin.
Bennett was asked to return as state coach to save Origin and Queensland. No pressure there, hey?
Bennett bravely ushered in players like Redcliffe legend Civoniceva, the gritty Kevin Campion, John Buttigieg, Russell Bawden, Brad Meyers, Carl Webb, Nathan Fien and John Doyle who, in two emotional home matches, helped sweep Queensland to an upset Origin series win no one saw coming.
THE 2006 PREMIERSHIP
Beating Melbourne to win the 2006 was one of Bennett’s crowning glories. The year had started with a 50 point trial loss to Melbourne in Toowoomba where the likes of champion Bronco Brad Thorn seemed on skid row.
Coming off a losing end to the 2005 season, Brisbane were also thrashed in their round 1 clash against the Cowboys and had to endure another post-Origin slump later in the season – losing five matches in a row.
Yet under Bennett Brisbane did rally late, although when they lost one of their semi-finals 20-4 to St George, no one believed they were a premiership threat. But three weeks later they upset Storm in the decider to win after a shock win over Canterbury.
ST GEORGE-ILLAWARRA’S 2010 PREMIERSHIP
This was one of Bennett’s greatest coaching achievement, taking over the famous club starved of a premiership for 32 years.
Gone was the Dragons star power of the mid-1990s and in its place was a struggling club.
But Bennett was able to turn:
+ Michael Weyman from a Q-Cup forward into the No. 1 prop in Australia
+ Neville Costigan was playing reserve grade in Canberra but Bennett snared him, turning him into a premiership winning and an Origin player again
+ He gave Jamie Soward confidence in his ability after Soward had been unwanted to the Roosters, turning him into the NSW No.6.
+ In his first season in 2009 he turned Beau Scott from a good back rower into a representative player – including playing him at centre where he was a revelation.
+ He not only had Ben Hornby playing halfback, but he made him captain at a time when Saints fans doubted their side could win the title with Hornby at No.7.
+ He recruited little known Jarrod Saffy and turned him into one of the best replacement forwards in the game
Taking the Dragons to the premiership that year was a great achievement against the odds.
QUEENSLAND 2020 STATE OF ORIGIN WIN
It was 2021 all over again when Bennett was asked by the QRL to coach Queensland and save Origin after the Blues had enjoyed life in the post-Cameron Smith era.
Just like in 2020, Bennett mixed carefully chosen experience with youth, and gave players confidence they belonged at Origin level and would maker Queenslanders proud.
The result were two upset wins in Games No. 1 and Game 3, resulting in a series win which evoked memories of Fatties famous No-Names winning in 1995.
It was an extraordinary series win, a throw back to the days when Queensland were underdogs in the 1970s.
GETTING SOUTH SYDNEY TO THE 2021 GRAND FINAL
What an about face it was by Wayne Bennett’s South Sydney to get within two points – a late conversion – of sending the 2021 NRL decider into extra time.
Everyone had written Souths off after, earlier in the season, they lost 50-nil to the Storm and 56-12 to Penrith.
No team had conceded 50 odd points and won the title in the same season.
Then another late season loss to Penrith and who could possibly pick Souths to upset Penrith in the preliminary final? Yet Souths won 16-10, a huge achievement by Bennett to get Souths back up again and through to a grand final few thought possible.
WILL THE DOLPHINS BE BETTER THAN SOME PEOPLE THINK?
It is a popular opinion the Dolphins will finish last this season, but are they a slightly better side than some people think?
You won’t want to rely on this same forward pack in two years given its maturity, but there is plenty to like about Jesse Bromwich, an in form Jeremy Marshall-King who had his best season in 2022, the rising rookie Thomas Gilbert, hardened Felise Kaufusi and Kenny Bromwich coming off his best season.
The Dolphins also have that glue player, No.13 Ray Stone, who is a Wayne Bennett-type of footballer.
Also Kodi Nikorima’s best position should always have been dummy half, where he will be used, while Mark Nicholls and Jarrod Wallace add valuable first year experience.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tesi Niu provide genuine strike out wide and sneaking through the ruck, and Sean O’Sullivan will relish running his own side.
And if anyone can get the best out of Anthony Milford, it is Bennett.
This is a good football team and although the squad lacks depth given it has had to be put together in a hurry, a wooden spoon outfit it is not.
Originally published as 10 reasons why Bennett’s 2023 with the Dolphins may not be his biggest challenge
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