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Is Wayne Bennett the best ever coach across all sporting codes in Australia? I’m not sure. What I do know is the technical term for what Bennett does best is ‘man management’. And he’s bloody good at it.
What makes Wayne such a great coach?
I sit there reflecting on where to go next: giving up looks an attractive option but the desire to continue is to strong.
Wayne has given virtually his whole life over to rugby league.
He has coached 680 NRL matches, a record after passing Tim Sheens on 669.
He coached the Brisbane Broncos for 21 years – an NRL record – taking them to the finals 18 times and to six premierships, eclipsing Jack Gibson’s five. If they made the grand final, they won it.
Then, after switching to St George Illawarra in 2009, he turned around the club’s fortunes by coaching them to the minor premiership in his first year and to the title in his second.
It was the merged club’s first premiership, Bennett’s seventh.
He steered Queensland to four State of Origin series wins and Australia through 16 Tests.
Why does Wayne Bennett think he has survived this long?
“Probably because I’ve never taken myself too seriously, never taken coaching as a career. It was never my chosen career.”
He gets close to his players because he enjoys their company and is genuinely interested in improving them not just as players but as people.
He believes the game has given him so much more than he has given it, to the point that, with the Kangaroos’ growing international dominance, he asked the Australian Rugby League for permission in 2008 to work with the New Zealand side.
No need to remind you how that worked out.
Whatever the winning formula is, Bennett’s admirers were desperately hoping it works on the Knights.
Jotting down my thoughts only hours out from the Knights taking on the Roosters for a spot in the grand final, I continue to wonder what makes Wayne Bennett the coach he is.
Perhaps it is this game that will reveal the answer but whatever the result, I have a sneaking suspicion that this is not the end of the Wayne Bennett story.
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