Sam Thaiday has too much class to sit on the bench, Wayne

What kind of point is Wayne Bennett trying to make with the very public lambasting of Sam Thaiday? If it’s just a motivational tactic, he’s doing his best to make it look like a dust-up.

Thaiday’s legacy at the Brisbane Broncos is already assured, no matter how he plays out the closing years of his career.

The captaincy of the Broncos is not something that traditionally has been tossed about like an iceberg-lettuce salad, but just as rocket and mesclun have taken over the leaf world, that tradition is changing.

Three skippers in the last three years, two captains last year, an injury-prone centre as captain in 2015, and a former captain sitting on the bench.

Thaiday plays hard, but with a fleet of foot you wouldn’t expect from such a top-heavy guy. He is the one of the finest backrowers in the game, and isn’t afraid to get in there and eat metres at prop when required. His footwork at the line is the greatest point of difference between Thaiday and other backrowers, and like Ryan Hoffman, he combines that with a willingness to make plenty of tackles.

Along with Corey Parker, Matt Gillett and Alex Glenn, he is part of one of the best and most consistent back rows in the competition.

Thaiday’s attitude and effort are rarely questioned. He’s never been dropped for his performances. Not from Queensland, not from Australia, not from the Broncos. Until now.

By none less than his new-old coach, Wayne Bennett.

The closest he’s come to any of this treatment is having the captaincy taken from him by Anthony Griffin at the beginning of 2014.

Thaiday was already one of the Broncos’ better players when Bennett left Brisbane for St George Illawarra in 2008, having played five seasons at the club. He was a Queensland and Australian forward (and has been ever since), and had earned the respect of the league.

Sure, the ‘Third-man-in Thaiday’ jibes were probably more plentiful back then, but he had cemented himself as a Brisbane must, and an Origin and national regular.

But this isn’t the Church of Thaiday, and I’m not saying the man is an immortal-in-waiting.

However, Bennett’s prickly public criticism of the former Broncos captain seemed rather out of character. Coaches are usually loathe to pick on anyone other than referees in public. Maybe now that they’re not allowed to anymore, new focuses are being found.

Brisbane’s season-opening game against the Rabbitohs was a disastrous loss. While the Broncos will be feeling slightly better that the Bunnies also beat the Roosters the week after, the magnitude shocked many folks who turned up on opening night, only to watch the villain fall down the stairs in the opening act and never recover.

The Broncos, under their returned master mentor Bennett, thrashed in the opening game of the year.

In a word, embarrassing.

For a club like that to go down so meekly, whether it’s to the best side in the competition or not, isn’t acceptable under Anthony Griffin, let alone Wayne Bennett.

James Gavet, one of Bennett’s signings, had an unmitigated disaster of a first half, but no lambasting came from the master coach. Being the man manager he is, Bennett probably knew giving Gavet the public booting wouldn’t have helped his game at all.

Throwing a spray the way of Sam Thaiday, however, can be done in public. He has a notoriously hard head on the field, and after a dozen years in the top grade, he can probably handle a public remonstration.

Clever tactics then?

Maybe, but the way Bennett is framing Thaiday’s punishment doesn’t really accord with that interpretation of events. He seems genuinely concerned about Thaiday’s form, figure and attitude. There have been rumblings of weight gain, but not having access to that data I can’t really comment.

Publicly, Thaiday said he understood Bennett’s actions in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, who have thrown some chilli into the salad by suggesting an off-contract Thaiday is playing for his career at Brisbane.

“I’m not blaming myself, I’m just putting my hand up and accepting responsibility for my own mistakes,” Thaiday said.

“It (Bennett’s blast) was as bad as some other coaches. They say Craig Bellamy (Storm coach) is actually the worst, he actually spits on you when he talks.

“Still, it cuts a little bit… but at the end of the day it’s still motivation.”

Typical Thaiday. Refreshingly honest, eloquent and with that ever-present touch of cheeky humour.

The Tele also reported that Bennett’s opinion from the first round might have softened somewhat after the opening round barrage:

“Bennett said he saw glimpses of the ‘Thaiday of old’ in last week’s win over Cronulla but warned it would take more than just one good performance for the stalwart to earn a recall to the starting side,” read the Tele.

Broncos CEO Paul White has already jumped in to say he hopes Thaiday will remain a career Bronco. I believe he will, whatever that’s worth.

But despite all his back row resources, Wayne Bennett would be wise to harness his best forward talent, rather than leave him languishing.