NRL 2021: Broncos flimsy defence would drive old coach Wayne Bennett mad
As the Broncos prepare once again to take on Wayne Bennett, a former player has revealed there’s one trait of the modern team that would spark fury in the master coach.
Wayne Bennett left the Broncos almost three years ago but his shadow remains in permanent residence.
The ghost of Wayne was there at Red Hill on Wednesday as Broncos coach Kevin Walters prepared to take on his old mentor at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday.
But it wasn’t to do with the traditional water cooler whiparounds of whether Bennett would return next year, which players still ring him or which ones he might bring back if he returns.
It was about Bennett’s secret sauce … defence.
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As the Broncos worked feverishly on stiffening up their tissue thin tackling, discussion turned to the chastening statistic that after 14 rounds Brisbane’s defence this season has improved by a solitary point – 437 points conceded last year to 436.
That’s a staggering 31 points per game from a team which, in their worst moments, would struggle to tackle a ham sandwich.
And it’s more than the Bennett-coached Broncos conceded in an entire season in their last premiership in 2006.
The ironic twist to it all is that when he was Broncos coach, Bennett had an allergy to soft mid-field tries, precisely the sort of ones his South Sydney team will be trying to sniff out against the Broncos at Suncorp.
Talk about salty wounds …
“Wayne hated soft tries,’’ said former premiership centre Steve Renouf as he kept an eye on a training session where Broncos players were trying to improve their lines of communication.
“Wayne would just give it to us if we let them through. We would work on a compact defence. He would say if they are quick enough to get around you good luck to them. But if they get through you, look out. It was that simple.’’
Bennett’s six premierships at the Broncos finished with attack but started with defence.
“Everyone thought we were an attacking team but it started with defence,’’ said Renouf who improved as a defender after being advised to take tutelage from Tony Currie and Trevor Gillmeister.
“Wayne was very intense about defence. He would tell the backs go and work on attack over there and come back and we’ll talk about defence. He worked with forwards on defence and we would do massive team stuff on defence and we would not let us go until we got it right.
“I looked at the tries last week and we were a little weak on the left edge but the worrying thing for me we were opened up in the middle far too easily. That becomes a personal thing. Do your job. Respect the guy beside you because you don’t want to let them down. But some of the tries last week were very soft.’’
Walters message to his side is to work as a team.
“We have seen the last couple of weeks at different stages when players get frustrated they try and solve the problem themselves,’’ Walters said.
“If they stick together and solve it as a unit whether it be the left edge or right edge or the middle we have certainly had much more success that way. That has been the message.’’
Su’A set for move to Broncos
— Peter Badel
Wayne Bennett says salary-cap pressures are set to force Jaydn Su’A out of South Sydney with the Queensland Origin hitman revealing his interest in a return to the Broncos.
The Courier-Mail can reveal Su’A is resigned to looking for a new home next season as he prepares to arrive in Brisbane with Souths’ 21-man squad for Thursday night’s clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Su’A remains off-contract at season’s end and Bennett concedes the Rabbitohs cannot afford to table a new deal — opening the door for the Broncos to bring the Maroons enforcer home to Queensland.
While Bennett has omitted Su’A from his top 17 for the Brisbane clash, the super coach is adamant the 23-year-old would be a coup for the Broncos, who are ready to pounce if he hits the Redfern exits.
“The reality is we can’t keep Jaydn under the salary cap,” Bennett said.
“We can’t fit him into the cap and Jaydn knows that, it’s something he has known for a while now so it’s not a shock to him.
“He would be a good asset for the Broncos. He has played a lot of NRL now, he is quite a handy forward on that edge position where he could add something to the Broncos.
“The Broncos are an option for him. He is a Queensland kid, he didn’t want to leave Brisbane in the first place, but he did leave Brisbane and I’m sure his heart is still in Brisbane.”
Bennett axed Su’A a fortnight ago due to concerns over a slight dip in attitude and form, but the Souths mentor was the first person to endorse his Queensland selection when contacted by Maroons coach Paul Green.
It was Bennett who blooded Su’A at Red Hill in 2016 and Broncos coach Kevin Walters believes the veteran of 72 NRL games could bring some mongrel and aggression to his back row next season.
The Rabbitohs are also fighting to retain Su‘A’s Maroons teammate Dane Gagai and the Queensland back-rower said the Broncos are in the frame as he looks to finalise his future.
“It does play on your mind (being off-contract), but I’m hoping it will be sorted out shortly,” he said. “I know the salary cap is a struggle for Souths at the moment. I’m not sure if I can stay. I know they have a few off-contract and they are talking to ’Gags’ (Gagai) as well.
“The Broncos were a good club to start out with. Wayne gave me my debut and I had a good relationship with him. But then he left and I didn’t want to leave the Broncos, but that’s the way things panned out and I ended up playing Origin at Souths, so I am grateful for that.
“I do know the Broncos well. I don’t know if I will end up there, but in the next few weeks I would definitely like to sort something out.
“Brisbane is home and always will be, but I’ve found a really good home in South Sydney, too. It‘s a big decision I have to make when the time comes. Hopefully I can sort things out soon.”
The Broncos are also chasing another back-rower in Su’A’s Queensland teammate Kurt Capewell, but he is expected to opt for the Cowboys or stay loyal to Penrith.
Su’A backed up from Origin I for Souths last week in their 24-10 defeat of Newcastle, but Bennett said he never planned to pick the New Zealand-born forward for the Broncos clash.
“We had four players out last week and three middles, so Jaydn played, but he was never going to get a chance this week,” Bennett said.
“Jaydn knows why he was dropped. I will keep it between us. He knows what he has to do. He knows what I want. The other guys are doing the job and he has to wait to get an opportunity.”
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