Rome was not built in a day and NRL premierships are not won off the back of just 12 months of work and the recruitment of star players.
While quality footballers are mandatory when it comes to competing consistently for the title, it’s something immeasurable and far less tangible that provides the fuel with which the great teams earn premierships.
Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters are current examples of exactly that: teams that have and will continue to be blessed with the service of undoubtedly talented players. Yet they are also clubs built around a much firmer foundation of spirit, unity and culture that separates them in terms of consistent performance.
Both are rugby league clubs that have been built, renovated and maintained in order to achieve long-term success. In essence, both are large-scale succession plans. Despite the departure of a coach or key players, the basis of the football business they transact and their underlying philosophies remain the same.
Penrith now loom as something similar after Phil Gould’s influence helped to set up a successful and reliable junior pathway system that saw the area’s best talent held and the right balance achieved in the playing roster.
With Gould’s arrival at the Bulldogs for 2022, it’s clear the Canterbury board is undertaking a similar journey and realising that the floundering of recent seasons had to stop and that a medium to long-term vision was urgently required.
With Wayne Bennett off to the Dolphins to take on the head coaching role for its inaugural NRL season in 2023, South Sydney’s succession planning will be well tested. History tells us that when the NRL’s most successful coach departs, there are serious challenges to face in the immediate aftermath. After a full three years at the helm, one grand final appearance in 2021 and preliminary finals in both 2019 and 2020, the Bunnies are one of the current powerhouses of the competition.
Across the last ten seasons participation in the NRL finals has been absent from Souths’ resume on only two occasions, and Bennett did all bar earn them a second premiership during that period, with a heartbreaking 14-12 loss to the Panthers in last season’s decider.
Where the club finishes in 2023 and beyond is interesting to ponder, with Bennett’s track record suggesting that he leaves teams seemingly in far worse shape than they appeared on the day he walked out the door.
After an original 21-year stint at the Broncos during which a glorious six premierships were won, Bennett’s departure in 2009 saw new coach Ivan Henjak take the reins. He would lead the club to its first missed finals series in 18 seasons during just his second year in charge. With Bennett now at St George Illawarra, Brisbane became a shadow of their former selves within two seasons, and Henjak’s papers were stamped soon after.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Contrastingly, Bennett had his Dragons firing from the moment he arrived, claiming two minor premierships and an elusive red and white title in 2010.
With Henjak gone, Anthony Griffin took his place on the hot seat in Brisbane and, after some initial promise in 2011, was similarly dismissed after three further seasons of play in which the Broncos continued to wade in mediocrity.
At the same time, Bennett took up digs in Newcastle and somehow managed to drag the Knights to a 2013 preliminary final despite serious limitations in his playing roster. As the Knights improved, the Dragons collapsed to three consecutive seasons without semi-finals action, and after Bennett’s departure at the completion of the 2014 season, the Knights slumped to three successive wooden spoons, with the NRL’s best coach’s reputation for leaving clubs in a tattered state further enhanced.
Brisbane called Bennett home after it was determined that Griffin was not the man to rebuild a floundering team, and in his first season of 2015 the old master had the Broncos back in the finals. Only one of the most desperate and gripping finales prevented his eighth premiership, and the hypothesis that success follows wherever Bennett travels was once again proven beyond any doubt.
Three more trips to the finals followed for Bennett’s now consistent Brisbane before South Sydney lured the coaching genius down south once again and the current period of sustained competitiveness began. At the same time, former South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold oversaw a debacle in Brisbane and an eventual wooden spoon in 2020. Kevin Walters had no further luck in 2021, with 14th the best his Broncos could manage.
With Bennett’s penchant for luring quality men from his most recent place of employment and many players’ apparent determination to play for him and perhaps not the new man to the job, each and every club that Wayne Bennett has visited since his NRL coaching debut in 1988 has somewhat crumbled upon his departure.
Partly it speaks to just how effective and brilliant he is as a coach and man manager while also potentially casting aspersions on the men that have followed him.
While the St George Illawarra fans loved their premiership and Knights folk enjoyed the rise before the most dramatic of crashes, one wonders whether it was worth the investment. The NRL’s greatest coach will give you a heck of a high and a mighty low when he leaves.
One wonders if South Sydney is about to live that reality in the very near future.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Agree with the inept management and pathetic recruitment/retention committee… Ellison needs to go.
Chris Love
Roar Guru
I think he proved at South’s that his coaching is good enough to win a comp. Short a brain explosion from Latrell South’s could have easily snatched that tittle last year.
BustlingBillDunn
Roar Rookie
Back when Bellamy introduced the coaching "innovation" of wrestling, ruining rugby league, Bennett fought against him the longest, publicly and on the field. Gresham's dynamic cost his Broncos wins, but he knew Bellamy's wrestle would change league forever for the worse, and refused to join in. The NRL is still trying to counter the wrestle with now constant brain-fart rule changes. For that last stand, Bennett wins my all time coach of the game formerly known as rugby league.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Agree they will miss Gagai and like the look of Lachlan Ilias. But it is a stretch to rate a 21yr old Ilias in front of 21yr old Reynolds. In his debut season in 2012 Reynolds played every minute of every game, kicked 97 goals at 85% and dragged the Bunnies from 10th the year before to 3rd in 2012 (the first time they had finished in the top 4 in 23 years). He ended the season with 184 points (competition's second-highest point-scorer), had 18 try-assists and 21 forced drop-outs and was the Dally M Rookie of the Year by the length of the straight. If Illias is half as good as Reynolds was in his debut year, Souths will still go ok. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJetWCox2s0
Cam
Roar Rookie
I think the other consideration that works in South’s favour is the continuity of coaching from Bennett to Demetriou. By some reports, Jason was coaching Souths in all but name, with Wayne adding the finishing touches with his man-management skills. To now have Demetriou as the official head coach shouldn’t upset the boat too much from a footy perspective. They might miss Wayne’s ability to attract players to the club, but to be fair, The Gladiator does a pretty good job on that front.
Jo Anderson
Guest
I believe that if you inspire your players and support them with a firm but fair approach and teach them that if you make a mistake learn from it then they will play extremely well. This is what Bennet does. He inspires them to be the best they can be and to learn from their mistakes not bring them down when they make them. That is why you see them berate themselves on the field then get back to doing their job not giving up as we see so often in some of the lower teams.
Joseph Borg
Guest
Hey Stuart, I think you conclusion or insinuation that Bennet leaving will leave Souths in the same mess or position it did when Wayne left St George and Newcastle are a very long bow to draw the circumstances are totally different and at this stage I think the Bunnies have 1 player heading to Dolphins, who will likely be at the end of his career so I don't expect a any major loss, I grant you we lost three players this year Adam Reynolds, Dane Gagai and Jason Su’a that I argue we should have tried better to keep, but alas this has nothing to do with Wayne Bennett's departure, just the South Sydney Retention committee trying to be a bit too smart for themselves, hopefully this doesn’t back fire on them as well as us (i.e. Rabbitohs Members and Supports) this year? But I guess its headline catching for you! Regards, Joey
Redcap
Roar Guru
I agree - I'm not blaming Bennett for his circumstances; circumstances largely thrust upon him, or chosen by him. Just pointing out part of the reason why the clubs he left declined - often sharply - shortly thereafter.
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
If a coach arrives at a club that has not been bringing through young players, what is he to do? a) write off a couple of seasons while those youngsters develop (and hope they are capable of developing)? b) poach some youngsters who have shown promise at other clubs? c) hire some seasoned pros? The coach is unlikely to be given the luxury of achieving nothing for a few years – as a plan! Paying big money for promise rather than demonstrated performance (especially hiring halves and backs) is inherently risky and often fails spectacularly. Hiring old pros – as Wayne Bennett has done – is the lowest risk approach to developing a competitive side in a hurry.
William W
Roar Rookie
I doubt they will move Latrell. I didn't forget about Kennar but officially he isn't in our Top 30, I haven't been impressed by his 2 trials either. I think Josiah Karapani can come good eventually but he is only on a Development deal at the moment and hasn't played any footy for 2 seasons, he will need game time in the Reggies.
Kurt S
Roar Pro
It may be the yearning to help young people toward being the best imagine of themselves that they can be. Football might just be the vehicle that allows Bennett to easily seek out those young people that he wishes to assist.
KenW
Roar Rookie
The outcomes are pretty similar. It's really just technicality. Hasler had a squad built through back-ended contracts, that were always going to lead to a downtime. I don't believe Bennett was relying on that so much, it's just that good players tend to join the clubs he coaches, and tend to leave when he does. Either way the coaches coming in are on a hiding to nothing. For what it's worth I think Souths will drop a little this year, but I don't reckon there's a big spiral coming for them.
matth
Roar Guru
He took on a challenge like this before - Canberra 1987. He also took on Brisbane as a brand new club. He then moved the old players aside a won premierships with the new players. his 1997 to 2000 team was entirely self developed. And "it's about time"? He's 237 years old! He should be off playing dominoes and reminiscing about past glories.
matth
Roar Guru
He's been within a few seconds with Brisbane and a goal kick with Souths.
matth
Roar Guru
How is it different? He mortgaged each club's medium term future for short term gain. Just like Bennett with St George and possibly Souths. In both cases the clubs went in with their eyes wide open (or purposefully shut).
matth
Roar Guru
You simply won't know until Bellamy leaves the Storm and Robinson leaves the Roosters. I will give you the Roosters as being somewhat consistent but not as threatening before Robinson, but not Melbourne.
ROARHIDE !
Guest
We've certainly let a few backs leave in the last few years, some first grade, some fringe. Dane Gagai, Adam Deouhi, Corey Allen, Braidon Burns, Robert Jennings, Totau Moga, Richie Kennar, Bryson Goodwin. Kennar's returned, as has Josh Mansour, hardly inspiring. Certainly light on in the three-quarters. Taaffe to fullback and Latrell back to centre ?
steveng
Roar Rookie
Fully agree with you WW, I've been very disappointed with the Bunnies performances so far, I'm not making any final conclusions as yet? But the performances have been very ordinary against some ordinary oppositions.
Adam
Roar Guru
100% agree. But the players probably have to wear that one. Though the 15 team put the cue in the rack real early and that might have been a coach's decision.
Adam
Roar Guru
Plenty of revisionists in League. Like everyone blaming Bennet for the Tinkler stinker