‘Wayne probably felt like he failed. What could he do?’ Inside Bennett’s tumultuous reign in Newcastle

There are two types of Wayne Bennett interview: short ones and really, really short ones. This was the latter.

“You’re wasting your time mate,” Bennett says when this masthead asks him to reflect on his time in Newcastle. “It was 10 years ago, we’ve played them eight or 10 times since. I don’t know what the fuss is about.”

Given what’s at stake on Sunday in the final match of the NRL regular season, it’s an opportune moment for an exercise in revisionist history.

Bennett will return to Newcastle in what could be his last game in charge of the Dolphins, where he will battle the Knights for the last spot in the finals. The reception he receives from the crowd is likely to be mixed.

“I don’t think anyone in our town has any beef with Wayne,” says legendary Newcastle prop Paul Harragon, who was the Knights chairman during Bennett’s tumultuous tenure, from 2012 to 2014.

“In this game, the way things go, whether you be a player or coach, sometimes you leave early. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, sometimes it does.

“The touch that Wayne had was good. We all wish him well. He’s touched a lot of clubs. He came to the Hunter Valley and was a pleasure. He was great.”

And this from the great Newcastle halfback Andrew Johns. “I don’t know, I haven’t lived up there since 2007,” the eighth Immortal says.

“I remember when it finished there was a bit of a sour taste in people’s mouths. But I don’t really know the ins and outs of it all. I knew there were some grumblings about the salary cap and recruiting older players who were on their last legs … A lot has happened since then.”

Wayne Bennett eyes off the media during a tense press conference as Knights coach in 2014.Credit: NRL Photos

With Bennett comes a level of hype and anticipation unlike any figure in the game. However, the expectations when he arrived in the Hunter went to another level. While speaking at a business luncheon after arriving in 2012 on a four-year contract, Bennett was asked how many premierships he was expected to win with the club.

The answer came from a man sitting in the front row of the audience.

“He’ll win four,” roared Nathan Tinkler, the billionaire mining magnate who had taken possession of the Knights.

It was all part of Tinkler’s grand plan … before his empire collapsed.

Having served at powerhouses Brisbane and St George Illawarra, the veteran coach now found himself at a club where his staff and players were unsure if the money would be deposited on payday.

It was one of a multitude of dramas during Bennett’s roller-coaster stint.

Wayne Bennett found himself on a roller-coaster in his three-year stint in the Hunter Valley.Credit: Getty

The high point was making the 2013 preliminary final, after ending the seasons of the Bulldogs and Storm on their home patches in the preceding weeks.

Early on in their clash against the Roosters, who would go on to take the title, Knights legend Danny Buderus was unconscious before he even hit the Allianz Stadium turf after a sickening collision with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

It was one of many blows the club could not recover from.

That was the 257th and last game for the talismanic Buderus. Kiwi international Russell Packer was signed to help fill the void, but before he could even present for his first day of pre-season training, he was sacked for a drunken assault that resulted in two years behind bars.

A fortnight later, Willie Mason celebrated Australia Day with 10 beers, as well as an indeterminate number of gin and tonics. The next day he was booked for driving under the influence. Halfback Jarrod Mullen pinged his hamstring during the Auckland Nines. And then midway through the 2014 season, marquee man Darius Boyd checked himself into rehab to deal with mental health issues.

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Yet, a single, catastrophic event ensured those incidents paled into insignificance. As half-time approached in Newcastle’s round-three clash with Melbourne, rising star Alex McKinnon took a hit-up ... and didn’t get up. The tackle went horribly wrong, fracturing his C4 and C5 vertebrae and rendering him paralysed from the chest down.

Wayne Bennett and Alex McKinnon share a bond like few others.Credit: Kate Geraghty

“I know with me personally, that rocked me to my very core,” Harragon recalls. “I was shell-shocked. It took me a long time to get over it and our club didn’t come out of it for a long time.

“I can’t put into words how huge that was for us.”

In the end, it was all too much. Even for Bennett. Despite sharing a bond with McKinnon as close as any coach has had with a player, Bennett opted not to fulfil the fourth and final year of his contract. In effect, Bennett sacked himself.

“I believe it will take a number of years to reach an acceptable position and that is what I am unable to commit to,” Bennett said at the time. “A longer-term coach is crucial for future success.”

“Wayne probably felt like he failed; the local community probably felt like he failed. What could he do? He had to move on.”

Alex McKinnon on Wayne Bennett

The critics had a field day. They accused Bennett of taking a short-term approach; of assembling a “Dad’s Army” squad; of not really being invested in the region; of walking away from it after failing to bring the success he enjoyed elsewhere; of leaving the club in a state of disrepair, as evidenced by the three consecutive wooden spoons it earned following his departure.

“I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, but there isn’t anybody who could have handled my situation, that situation, any better,” McKinnon says.

“There were no winners. Wayne probably felt like he failed; the local community probably felt like he failed.

“What could he do? He had to move on.

“You could never question the effort, commitment and what he did for the town and the players while he was here. That’s all you can hold him to, ultimately.

“It’s a funny dynamic, I’m defending him all the time with the local crowd.”

All up, Bennett has earned seven premierships from 10 grand final appearances. Despite being unable to add to the tally in Newcastle, he has privately mused that his greatest coaching performance was keeping the club together during those tumultuous times.

Even during that chaotic final season, the Knights won eight of their final 11 games at a time when finishing last appeared a distinct possibility.

“If you look at how the team performed after and before, Wayne took us to the highest realm of performances,” Harragon recalls.

“It was a typical Bennett performance in respect to coming into a new club, giving that consistency, that very simple instruction. He’s a very experienced hand.

“There is a very unique view of the world that Wayne has that works. It’s proven. We benefited from that; it was a good experience.

“The idea of him coming back for such a big game on the weekend, it’s great.”

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There is another intriguing subplot to Bennett’s homecoming. During his unsuccessful pitch to lure Kalyn Ponga to the Dolphins, the superstar fullback was told some home truths: he could remain in his comfort zone or step out of it in search of greatness.

“Mate, I want you here, and we are both going to be winners,” Bennett said at the time.

Bennett missed his man, but his words appear to have had an effect. Ponga responded with the most unlikely run to last year’s Dally M Medal, claiming the gong despite missing a chunk of the season due to concussion.

Now they square off for a huge prize in the final game of the regular season.

A photo of Wayne Bennett appears on the large screen after coaching his last game for the Knights in 2014 - with some unfortunate signage underneath it.Credit: Getty

“It’s going to be a cracker,” Johns says. “I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be an absolute classic.”

Sunday is old boy’s day at Newcastle, an occasion to celebrate all those who have contributed during the 37-year history of the club. It seems fitting that their oldest old boy, the 74-year-old Bennett, is coming to spoil the party.

The clash stirs up a multitude of emotions in McKinnon. While he wishes success for Bennett, he will be just another Novocastrian cheering on the home side at McDonald Jones Stadium.

No one felt more love and support from Bennett during his darkest period, nor more alone when he left. Best friend Boyd, with whom McKinnon had boarded since they were 17, also moved on. So, too, did close mates Jeremy Smith and Beau Scott shortly afterwards.

“Do I hold that against Wayne? Not a chance,” McKinnon says.

“Could someone else? They could. But that’s not Wayne’s responsibility. He has to make decisions for himself. People can look at that as a selfish decision, but they can also look at it as an honest one.

“Anyone who has engaged with Wayne and knows him generally or personally would only want the best for him.

“It’s a funny spot for me to be in; I came in here with Wayne, what happened to me happened.

“A lot of my friends on the team left. Coincidentally, Wayne is the coach [on Sunday], there are two players involved in that tackle [former Storm forwards Jesse Bromwich and Kenny Bromwich], who are playing for the Dolphins.

“I hold no animosity, I let that go a long time ago. It’s funny, I then go to old boys day and sit on the hill. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”

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