As Wayne Bennett embarks on building a playing squad that will ensure the Dolphins hit the ground running in their maiden NRL campaign, the veteran coach says culture will be the driving factor in his recruitment.
Bennett, 71, was confirmed as the Dolphins’ foundation NRL coach on Thursday, the club signing him to a four-year deal as they prepare for their debut in the competition in 2023.
The only coach to take four different clubs to a grand final – including Brisbane five years after their entry to the NRL in 1988 – Bennett’s appointment comes before the November 1 deadline when the Dolphins can begin negotiations with players.
The expansion club have already been linked with NRL stars Kalyn Ponga, Cameron Munster and Harry Grant.
Parramatta hooker Reed Mahoney, Gold Coast forward Tino Fa’asuamaleui and Melbourne prop Christian Welch are others on the Dolphins’ radar.
With a $9.5 million salary cap to fill, Bennett says it’s more than just pure talent that will drive his selections.
“Culture, every time,” he said.
“The talent will come and we’ll grow the talent, we’ll find the talent but it’s who we are and what we are and what we stand for is the important things within clubs.
“Obviously I want the good players to come here and want to feel comfortable here but there’s just more than me being here that will bring them here and that’s the concept that I’ll be buying in to and I want everyone else to buy in to.
“This is a wonderful club, great area and it’s not about one person.”
The Dolphins will be Bennett’s latest stop in a first-grade coaching career that began working alongside Don Furner at Canberra in 1987 before a 20-year stint at the Broncos, which brought the club six premierships.
He took St George Illawarra to a premiership in 2010, spent three years at Newcastle and then returned to Brisbane, taking them to the 2015 grand final.
Sacked by the Broncos in 2018, Bennett then joined South Sydney where his final match at the helm was this year’s grand final defeat to Penrith.
Despite the breakdown of his relationship with the Broncos after his acrimonious exit from Red Hill, Bennett said his decision to take on the Dolphins job was not about establishing a rivalry with his former employers.
“I’ll make a point to you all here today, my time with the Broncos is over,” he said.
“I’m here at Redcliffe – the Dolphins – and I want them to be the best club.
“I’m not going to be looking over my shoulder at any other club in the NRL.
“My total focus is on what we can do here how we can enhance what they’ve already built here.”
Bennett is yet to decide on his coaching staff but did confirm his assistant is likely to be his long-term successor at the Dolphins, similar to the role played by Jason Demetriou at the Rabbitohs.
“That’s obviously going to be an important decision,” Bennett said.
“I’m just kind of sitting back at the moment, we’ve got 12 months grace there, but our plan is to get someone to take my place when my time’s up as we’ve just done at South Sydney.
“It works and it’s in the best interest of everybody that we move in that direction.
“That’s been part of the negotiations and that’s the way we’re going.”
sheek
Roar Guru
Well, the new Dolphins players will certainly need some kind of moral anchor, because at present they have no idea who they represent.
BillV
Guest
Glory bound as in constipation. Keep pushing but can’t get it done. Souths are definitely Glory bound.
Ranfurly Shield needed for NRL
Guest
Bennett is on the money.
BillV
Guest
Ask immortal Joey Johns. He should know best. As for petty name calling, i’ll leave that with you. Storm certainly are struggling at the moment, fans included.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
So their achievements on the field are due to partying. Got to be one of the dumbest theories of sporting success I've heard of.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
The Roosters were clearly over the salary cap in 2013 ($4.5 mill as revealed by Matty Johns at the time), and in 2018 and 2019 ($2 mill plus). You can't have virtually a full team of representative talent, with rep talent in your extended 20-man squad (i.e. Ryan Hall/Josh Morris) and still claim to be under a $9.4 mill salary cap! You have 3 players on $1 mill each for crying out loud! Tedesco ($1.1 mill), Cronk ($1 mill) and Crichton ($1 mill) and your next 6 players on a total of $3.7 mill ($617K each) and expect to still be under the salary cap. No other team, not even the Storm, had that kind of advantage.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
"it’s shameful for the roosters…" When did I say that about Todd Carney, Mitchell Pearce, SKD, Jake Friend, Blake Ferguson or Paul Carter? OK, I may have made a woof woof joke at Pearce's expense and suggested he deserved to be banned but I defended him when the Roosters kicked him to the curb to make way for Cooper Cronk. Again, I think you are grasping at straws because you threw mud and got covered in muck and you are trying to rewrite history to suit your argument.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
"On teo no criminal case... Still fell well short of the good bloke test on that one." How so? I think you are grasping at straws because you threw mud and got covered in muck. Read the the facts about the case. Te'o is no more guilty of doing anything wrong than Benji was in defending two young women from misogynistic bullies. Both pass the good bloke test unless you have an agenda and a closed mind. We both know if Te'o was wearing a Roosters jersey you would be doing your best to defend him.
BillV
Guest
Both Munster and SmithB are now essentially busted units. Their concept of NRL life has been exclusively based on partying. That’s now been taken away. Straightening them out won’t make them happier, won’t make them play better. Without the stuff that makes you bullet-proof they will be cannon-fodder. Building your team around that will be a disaster.
BillV
Guest
Not sure how you create culture with no identity. At this stage they can’t be red and white because there’s already a team registered with those colours. At this stage, they don’t even know themselves, which Suburb, region, or % of Qld they are representing when they play. We don’t know who they are, what they will look like, or where they are from. Focus on culture?? I think the cart is a little in front of the horse.
mushi
Roar Guru
" I have to say I am disappointed you had to stoop to such levels mushi." Good we are mutually disappointed, I feel dirty stepping down into your sewer rants but this strip premierships we wuz robbed rubbish is tiresome and pathetic.
mushi
Roar Guru
On teo no criminal case hence I didn't list him in the court orders. Still fell well short of the good bloke test on that one.
mushi
Roar Guru
Hold on so all these guys had things that predate souths but you then say souths don't put up with that and it's shameful for the roosters... That's exactly the hypocritical behaviour of yours I'm calling out. I'm not the one saying let's strip premierships. You are the one doing that. And yes I have "put the boot in" on my own team. There's been years I cancel my tickets if I don't agree with the quality of the team. When asked I explain disappointment, I did so this year due to the decision to play suali. As for Burgess he plead guilty to driving after taking illicit drugs, it's just he's court so often you tend to loose track.
Larry1950
Guest
Well wayne’s a big supporter of Matt Lodge so go with him. Munster
PGNEWC
Roar Rookie
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Lighting NFL and Ice Hockey Champs respectively --Their Baseball team made the playoffs as well --- very lucky having Bay in the name at the moment
Larry1950
Guest
No-brainer to select Josh Hannay as the logical assistant & successor. Just got the job as Qld assistant coach following his Cronulla assistant coach appointment.
PeterCtheThird
Guest
True, it took Bennett five years to get the Broncos to their first premiership (although that 44-10 belting of Manly in their first outing was kind of fun as well). And let’s all keep calling the new team Redcliffe. The good Mr V’landys (am I a bad person to think of him as Darth V’landys?) may eventually see sense. And, as I said earlier, the All Blacks’ mantra of “No dickheads” is a pretty good place to start building your culture.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Munster and culture is a bit of an oxymoron.
Tony
Roar Guru
I see you've got that new calculator working :happy:
The Sporacle
Roar Rookie
I would say that Bennett is the culture, by that I mean whatever team he builds will have a good culture while he is there. What happens when he leaves is another story as to what is built and who he builds it with :thumbup: