The last time he was asked about his record against Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett gave the question short shrift.
“I couldn’t give a rat’s about it,” Bennett said before his South Sydney team clashed with Bellamy’s Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in round eight. “It’s the last thing on my mind.”
Two months down the track, as he and Bellamy prepare for a record-breaking 44th showdown as rival coaches at Accor Stadium on Saturday, Bennett was more inclined to offer an insight into the respect he holds for one of the few opponents to have dominated him throughout their storied careers.
Asked on Friday about where Bellamy rates among the great coaches he has encountered, Bennett replied: “He’s up there with them. His record says that. His win-loss record, his grand final appearances. He’s up there with all the great coaches we’ve ever had.”
The previous benchmark was Bennett’s 43 clashes with Tim Sheens, which was equalled in round eight when the Storm downed Souths 24-18 at AAMI Park, extending two remarkable streaks in the process.
That result left the Rabbitohs winless in the Victorian capital, a curse that dates back 26 years and now amounts to 20 successive games.
Moreover, it was Bellamy’s 14th consecutive win against Bennett, whose last success against the Storm mentor was nine years ago, during his second stint at the helm of Brisbane Broncos.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett.Credit: Getty Images
Bennett has since changed clubs three times, from the Broncos to Souths to the Dolphins and back to the Rabbitohs, without coming any closer to toppling the Melbourne maestro.
Since his debut season in 2002, Bellamy leads 33-10 against Bennett, and the latter’s 23.3 per cent winning ratio in their head-to-head battles is his lowest against any long-term rival.
Asked why Melbourne had been such a tough nut to crack, Bennett suggested his former understudy at Brisbane deserved a large slice of any credit.
‘He’s been a wonderful coach, Craig, and it’s a credit to him.’
WAYNE BENNETT
“They all do their jobs,” Bennett said. “They’re really good at that. Whatever role you’ve got in that team, they do it.
“They’ve had a great deal of success. He’s been a wonderful coach, Craig, and it’s a credit to him.
“But the long-term coaches have better opportunities to have more success, because you build a team. He’s been allowed to build his team and be the coach there.
“Same with Penrith now and the Roosters. They’ve got long-term coaches.”
Craig Bellamy served as an assistant coach to Wayne Bennett at the Broncos and with the Australian Test team.Credit: Colin Whelan
Melbourne’s overall record against Souths is daunting: 35 wins from 42 games. An 82.9 per cent success rate – the Storm’s best against any team – implies that the Rabbitohs have been their bunnies.
A 15th consecutive loss at Bellamy’s hands could leave Bennett pondering another statistic he would prefer to avoid.
During a top-level coaching career that kicked off at Canberra in 1987 – where Bellamy was a player – Bennett has never missed out on the finals three years in a row.
Yet after steering the Dolphins to 13th in their foundation campaign and 10th last year, before he rejoined Souths, the 75-year-old is under mounting pressure to avoid finishing with the also-rans for a third straight season.
After their 24-18 loss to Canterbury on Sunday, Souths have slipped to 14th rung on the NRL ladder, and an injury toll that just keeps mounting is adding to their worries.
Having opened the season in impressive fashion with four wins from their first five fixtures, Souths have now lost three in a row, and seven of their past nine.
They are still within striking distance of the top eight, and are one of 10 teams with six or more wins in the bank, although a points differential of minus-88 won’t help their cause.
History suggests they will probably need at least six wins from their remaining 10 games to qualify for the post-season. Bookmakers rate them a $4.50 chance of doing so.
It’s not yet do or die, and Bennett believes a finals berth is still in their sights.
“We haven’t lost that confidence at all,” Bennett said.
“We’ve played the top-four teams four games in a row, and every one of those games we’ve been in the game and leading at different stages.
“So we’re not far off, we know that. But we’re not a top-four team.
“We’ll need to get these [injured] players back to be a top-four team. But the other guys have been outstanding.”
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