Wayne Bennett news

[Dolph]

Several people in the media are saying this season is shaping up as Wayne's greatest ever coaching achievement. Taken a team of mostly rejects other clubs didn't want. Now the finals look almost like a certainty. Just a question of what position in the finals.

I tend to agree. Before the season started I was hoping to avoid the spoon and doing so would have meant a pass for the season.

It might be but as of right now, we are in 8th place on the table on for and against. So far the season has gone better than expected but only 1/3 into it. Finishing in the lower part of the table is still a distinct possibility.

 

[Red]

It might be but as of right now, we are in 8th place on the table on for and against. So far the season has gone better than expected but only 1/3 into it. Finishing in the lower part of the table is still a distinct possibility.

Doesn't hurt to dream. But I agree top 4 will probably be out of reach. Though 1/2 a game into round 1, I would have said finals are out of reach. I think top 4 will be fought between, in no particular order:

• Penrith
• Souths
• Bronocs
• Roosters
• Melbourne

Then the 3 remaining will be:

• Dolphins
• NZ
• Cronulla

 

[Chris]

It might be but as of right now, we are in 8th place on the table on for and against. So far the season has gone better than expected but only 1/3 into it. Finishing in the lower part of the table is still a distinct possibility.

Just being optimistic. And got a bye and a few of what should be easier games coming up.

 

[DolphinLungren]

I think now is the true test for Bennett and the team in general. The initial hype and underdog status have now gone. We have done extremely well thus far because of this, however the last 2 weeks have shown some flaws, especially in the 1st half.

Hopefully Bennett can find ways to maintain the team's energy and competitive drive moving forward. As it stands right now I think most people expect us to at least make an appearance in the finals.

With an older team especially in the forwards, I feel it is going to be harder for them as the season progresses and general fatigue and niggling injuries on older tired bodies set in. I have no doubt Wayne will know all of this and will be doing his best to keep everyone at their peak and happy, but it will certainly get harder from here on in. I am wondering if he might start resting some older blokes around the origin period and later stages of the comp? Our depth will certainly be tested as the season progresses, and I hope the younger guys will step up to the plate.

 

[Liverbird with Phins up]

I think now is the true test for Bennett and the team in general. The initial hype and underdog status have now gone. We have done extremely well thus far because of this, however the last 2 weeks have shown some flaws, especially in the 1st half.

Hopefully Bennett can find ways to maintain the team's energy and competitive drive moving forward. As it stands right now I think most people expect us to at least make an appearance in the finals.

With an older team especially in the forwards, I feel it is going to be harder for them as the season progresses and general fatigue and niggling injuries on older tired bodies set in. I have no doubt Wayne will know all of this and will be doing his best to keep everyone at their peak and happy, but it will certainly get harder from here on in. I am wondering if he might start resting some older blokes around the origin period and later stages of the comp? Our depth will certainly be tested as the season progresses, and I hope the younger guys will step up to the plate.

My thoughts as well

 

[Equaliser]

Wayne Bennett’s greatest NRL trick​

What card will Bennett have up his sleeve when the supercoach celebrates reaching the incredible milestone of 900 games coached in Magic Round at his favourite stomping ground Suncorp Stadium? There’s no question Wayne’s greatest trick is instilling trust and belief in his players. Bennett is the undisputed best of the best when it comes to being a players’ coach.

Talk to anyone who’s played for him from Sam Burgess to Wendell Sailor to Beau Scott or Gorden Tallis, Bennett’s genius is the way he relates to his players, earns trust and understands what makes all footballers tick. Not just champion footballers, all footballers.

Like Craig Bellamy at Melbourne, Wayne can get the best out of the players in the bottom tier of the top 30 the same way he can extract brilliance out of the superstars. Let’s take Jamie Soward, for example. Bennett helped transform the maligned Dragons playmaker into a premiership-winning five-eighth when plenty of other coaches had consigned him to the too hard basket.

His message? Real simple. Don’t carry your divots. Play to your strengths and we’ll work on your weaknesses. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Gilbert and Connelly Lemuelu are three recent examples at the Dolphins. Already good players, Wayne’s made them genuine stars.

He hasn’t done it through tactical periodisation or X’s and O’s on an iPad. He just trains them hard, instils self-belief and treats them like men. There’s enough famous stories about Wayne to fill five books. The seven premierships, the dust-ups with other big figures in the game, the allies, the enemies.

From always sitting up the back of the bus (nothing good happens at the front) to playing cards with his players to falling asleep in his office as he’s moved into his 70s to some of the State of Origin series celebrations (we can’t print those), it’s a ripping read. Of course, it’d be impossible to survive in rugby league for five decades without making plenty of enemies.

Wayne’s got plenty of detractors but even his harshest critic can’t deny a record which will never, ever be beaten. Roosters coach Trent Robinson, 45, would have to coach for another 25 seasons in the NRL to equal the amount of games Bennett has coached when the Dolphins play the Sharks on Super Saturday in Brisbane. Robbo has currently coached the Chooks for 266 games and three premierships.

Let’s go over some of the other coaches who’ve made it past 400 games on the roller-coaster ride of life as a head coach. It’s an all-star line-up. Tim Sheens (677 games, four premierships), Craig Bellamy (531 games, three premierships) , Ricky Stuart (475 games, one premiership), Des Hasler (458 games, two premierships), Warren Ryan (415 games, two premierships), Bob Fulton (405 games, two premierships).

 

[Josh]

Wayne Bennett’s greatest NRL trick​

What card will Bennett have up his sleeve when the supercoach celebrates reaching the incredible milestone of 900 games coached in Magic Round at his favourite stomping ground Suncorp Stadium? There’s no question Wayne’s greatest trick is instilling trust and belief in his players. Bennett is the undisputed best of the best when it comes to being a players’ coach.

Talk to anyone who’s played for him from Sam Burgess to Wendell Sailor to Beau Scott or Gorden Tallis, Bennett’s genius is the way he relates to his players, earns trust and understands what makes all footballers tick. Not just champion footballers, all footballers.

Like Craig Bellamy at Melbourne, Wayne can get the best out of the players in the bottom tier of the top 30 the same way he can extract brilliance out of the superstars. Let’s take Jamie Soward, for example. Bennett helped transform the maligned Dragons playmaker into a premiership-winning five-eighth when plenty of other coaches had consigned him to the too hard basket.

His message? Real simple. Don’t carry your divots. Play to your strengths and we’ll work on your weaknesses. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Gilbert and Connelly Lemuelu are three recent examples at the Dolphins. Already good players, Wayne’s made them genuine stars.

He hasn’t done it through tactical periodisation or X’s and O’s on an iPad. He just trains them hard, instils self-belief and treats them like men. There’s enough famous stories about Wayne to fill five books. The seven premierships, the dust-ups with other big figures in the game, the allies, the enemies.

From always sitting up the back of the bus (nothing good happens at the front) to playing cards with his players to falling asleep in his office as he’s moved into his 70s to some of the State of Origin series celebrations (we can’t print those), it’s a ripping read. Of course, it’d be impossible to survive in rugby league for five decades without making plenty of enemies.

Wayne’s got plenty of detractors but even his harshest critic can’t deny a record which will never, ever be beaten. Roosters coach Trent Robinson, 45, would have to coach for another 25 seasons in the NRL to equal the amount of games Bennett has coached when the Dolphins play the Sharks on Super Saturday in Brisbane. Robbo has currently coached the Chooks for 266 games and three premierships.

Let’s go over some of the other coaches who’ve made it past 400 games on the roller-coaster ride of life as a head coach. It’s an all-star line-up. Tim Sheens (677 games, four premierships), Craig Bellamy (531 games, three premierships) , Ricky Stuart (475 games, one premiership), Des Hasler (458 games, two premierships), Warren Ryan (415 games, two premierships), Bob Fulton (405 games, two premierships).

Interesting. Long but interesting.

 

[Equaliser]

Interesting. Long but interesting.

I should have only posted the important parts. You know these people have to write XXXX number of words. So sometimes their articles are far longer than they should be.

 

[Red]

Wayne Bennett's greatest feuds.​

I didn't realise he had so many.

• ANTHONY SEIBOLD
• DARREN LOCKYER, PAUL WHITE AND KARL MORRIS
• GORDEN TALLIS
• WALLY LEWIS
• CAMERON MUNSTER
• MAL MENINGA
• CRAIG BELLAMY
• NICK POLITIS
• PHIL GOULD
• NATHAN BROWN (“The reality is, when Wayne came to town, if he thought with his big head rather than his little head, I wouldn’t have had to rebuild the joint,”)

 

[Chris]

Wayne Bennett's greatest feuds.​

I didn't realise he had so many.

• ANTHONY SEIBOLD
• DARREN LOCKYER, PAUL WHITE AND KARL MORRIS
• GORDEN TALLIS
• WALLY LEWIS
• CAMERON MUNSTER
• MAL MENINGA
• CRAIG BELLAMY
• NICK POLITIS
• PHIL GOULD
• NATHAN BROWN (“The reality is, when Wayne came to town, if he thought with his big head rather than his little head, I wouldn’t have had to rebuild the joint,”)

So Wayne's feuding with several of the most influential people in the game....

 

[Liverbird with Phins up]

Wayne should be an immortal at the end

 

[DolphinLungren]

Wayne Bennett's greatest feuds.​

I didn't realise he had so many.

• ANTHONY SEIBOLD
• DARREN LOCKYER, PAUL WHITE AND KARL MORRIS
• GORDEN TALLIS
• WALLY LEWIS
• CAMERON MUNSTER
• MAL MENINGA
• CRAIG BELLAMY
• NICK POLITIS
• PHIL GOULD
• NATHAN BROWN (“The reality is, when Wayne came to town, if he thought with his big head rather than his little head, I wouldn’t have had to rebuild the joint,”)

I didn't realise he feuded with Mal... wonder what that was about? Mal was full of praise for him yesterday, said he was influential in his life when Wayne first helped him at the PCYC.

 

[Red]

I didn't realise he feuded with Mal... wonder what that was about? Mal was full of praise for him yesterday, said he was influential in his life when Wayne first helped him at the PCYC.

MAL MENINGA​

What do you get when two of league’s most powerful figures face off for the same job? Fireworks. Meninga famously pipped Bennett for the Kangaroos’ coaching job in 2015 and it went down like a lead balloon with Bennett, who was in charge of the Broncos at the time. Meninga eventually wrote a column for The Sunday Mail in 2016 to address their fractured relationship.

“My beef with Wayne is not that he wanted the Australian job. I have no problem with ambition,” Meninga wrote. “What disappoints me is that, as a grown man and a professional, he should be able to accept the decision once it has been made. “It does annoy me that he is in the background chipping away, trying to undermine my authority and my position with the Australian Rugby League.

“When Wayne says he doesn’t want my job, or that we are friends who will embrace after a game, it is just not true. “I know there is a perception that he and I are friends and I guess that is a part of the reason for doing this column — to set the record straight. “We’re not enemies, but we’re not friends either. There’s no bad blood — there’s just no blood at all. There is no relationship there.”

Meninga and Bennett put their differences aside in 2020 to form a coaching dream team which led Queensland to a famous State of Origin series victory.

 

[Red]

IMO calling us a "premiership dark horse" is a little hyperbolic at this point. An outstanding win last week, bad loss to Canberra the week before and lucky to get away with the Gold Coast win the week before that. And a touch-up from Souths the week before that.

Having said that, if Wayne can iron out a few very fixable problems and we have some luck with injuries and suspensions, you'd think we'll be there for at least week 2 of the finals. Finishing ahead of the Broncos would be absolutely massive! How many players who would have balked at coming to a struggling will now want to join Brisbane #1 team?

---

How Bennett transformed band of misfits and rejects into an NRL dark horse​

There were grave fears across the rugby league world as the Dolphins entered their debut NRL season. Wayne Bennett’s franchise had missed out on a host of marquee names including Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Reece Walsh as they built their first ever top 30 roster. With a clean salary cap to burn and cheques ready to be written — the 17th franchise were expected to land a big fish.

 

[Red]

Breakdown of the players who have exceeded expectations under Bennett:​

CONNELLY LEMUELU​

Lemuelu played 24 games across three seasons at the Cowboys, failing to cement a starting spot in North Queensland. The 24-year-old made his NRL debut on the wing in Round 6 of the 2020 season. In 2021 Lemuelu played in the centres, signing a one-year contract extension for 2022. That year he only played four games and fell down the pecking order, shifting to a backrow role and sitting behind Jeremiah Nanai and Heilum Luki. Lemuelu initially signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins for the 2023 season before he was quickly re-signed for a further three years after his barnstorming campaign. Since Round 4, the dangerous ballrunner has started on an edge in every game, scoring four tries to date. Under Bennett, the young gun has more linebreaks in 10 games than he did in his whole Cowboys career to go with only two less offloads. He also has six wins with the Dolphins, one more than the 20 games he started for the Cowboys. Lemuelu is also averaging double the amount of offloads and 11.9 more tackles in starting appearances. Rugby league legend Greg Alexander labelled Lemuely a “revelation” after he starred in the Dolphins’ loss to the Raiders.

“His form in the backrow has been a revelation, not just today but throughout the opening eight rounds,” Alexander said. “Lemuelu has found himself in the backrow and impressed Wayne Bennett so much.”

 

[Red]

EUAN AITKEN​

Aitken began his NRL career with the Dragons, making his debut in Round 3 of the 2015 season. The 27-year-old emerged as one of the NRL’s most exciting centres at the Red V and at one point there were even calls for the outside back to earn a State of Origin debut. Aitken eventually left the Dragons for the Warriors before he was granted an early release from his New Zealand contract to join the Dolphins. The gun centre failed to live up to expectation for the Warriors, but has been simply excellent under Wayne Bennett. With the NRL’s newest franchise, Aitken has only missed time on the field due to injury with a hamstring blow ruling him out at halftime against the Sharks. He is also averaging more tackle busts, line breaks, line break assists, try assists, offloads and less missed tackles for the Dolphins than in his previous 151 starting appearances in the NRL. Referencing his potential Origin call-up, Ginnane explained Aitken may have lived up to his potential at the Redcliffe-based club. “But none more so than Euan Aitken, he has once again become the player that many thought he was in his early days at the Dragons when he was knocking on the door of Origin selection,” Ginnane said.

 

[Red]

HAMISO TABUAI-FIDOW​

Tabuai-Fidow has simply been electric for the Dolphins and currently sits equal third on the try-scoring leaderboard with 10 four-pointers. The 21-year-old burst onto the scene with the Cowboys, debut in Round 5 of the 2020 season. He then went on to make his Origin debut just over a year later, playing for Queensland in Game III of the 2021 series. Last season, the speedster fell out of favour under Todd Payten as Scott Drinkwater cemented himself as the club’s starting fullback, Tabuai-Fidow was demoted to a utility role off the bench and Wayne Bennett swooped, initially handing him a two-year deal. Alex McKinnon likened Tabuai-Fidow’s form and style this season to that of legendary fullback Billy Slater. “I’m not comparing the two but he does the same thing Billy Slater used to do for Melbourne, with that real ability to play ad lib footy,” he wrote. “You can bet your bottom dollar that if he hits the open market on November 1 the big-money offers will come thick and fast.” But the Dolphins put an end to that speculation, extending his contract until the end of 2027.

 

[Red]

JAMAYNE ISAAKO​

Isaako was a regular figure in the Broncos before signing with the Dolphins in December 2021. The gun winger revealed 12 months later he “didn’t have too much confidence” in his place in the team, prompting an immediate switch to the Titans for the 2022 season. Isaako only managed 11 games during his time on the Gold Coast but has flourished under Wayne Bennett at the Dolphins. The winger is yet to miss a minute, starting on the wing in every game and scoring eight tries including a hattrick against the Cowboys in Round 6. After grounding his third four-pointer within the first half, commentators Andrew Voss was excited to see Isaako enjoying his football once again. “First hattrick of his career Jamayne Isaako... and he’s got a smile on his face, enjoying his football,” Andrew Voss said. “He’s been a pretty fair pick-up.” Isaako’s statistics are quite staggering, scoring 108 points in only 10 games in comparison to 572 across his prior 87 career starting appearances. He has also made 10 linebreaks, compared to 43 for the Titans and Broncos. Isaako is also averaging close to double the tackle breaks, double the line breaks and 36 more running metres per game.

 

[Red]

JEREMY MARSHALL-KING​

Jeremy Marshall-King began his career with the Tigers, playing a singular game in 2017 before signing with the Bulldogs. The 27-year-old went on to play 99 games for the Belmore-based club, before they signed former Eel Reed Mahoney ahead of the 2023 season, signalling the end of his Bulldogs career. After Mahoney’s signing was announced in January 2022, Marshall-King seemed to hit his stride and Wayne Bennett quickly snapped the half-brother of Benji Marshall up. At the Dolphins, the gun hooker has been one of the club’s best and most consistent players, earning plaudits from rugby league pundits. After yet another darting run to orchestrate the Dolphins’ first try against the Sharks, rugby league legend Corey Parker labelled his form “electric”. “Seven try assists for Marshall-King, 11 tries they have been able to score through that middle third, the best in the competition,” Parker said. “It is quite a feat for a man who was replaced by Reed Mahoney at the Bulldogs, Wayne saw something in him and gave him an opportunity. “He has been electric out of dummy-half.” Marshall-King is another player smashing his previous output in starting appearances at other clubs, tallying more tackle busts, line breaks, line break assists, try assists (by 0.73) and tackles.

 

[Red]

KODI NIKORIMA​

Nikorima had struggled to find regular NRL football in recent years, bouncing from the Warriors to the Rabbitohs in a mid-season switch. The 29-year-old played majority of his 15 games off the bench for South Sydney, adding to his tally of 167 first grade appearances. Nikorima signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins in July 2022, having previously lived in Brisbane after moving to Queensland from New Zealand at 12. Initially, Nikorima was firming to be the club’s utility, playing a role off the bench. The versatile playmaker didn’t feature until Round 3, scoring on his club debut. He then found himself thrust into the five-eighth role following an injury crisis in the halves with both Sean O’Sullivan and Anthony Milford sidelined. While questions were raised over his ability to lead a team, Nikorima delivered a big performance in the club’s Round 6 win over the Cowboys, going on to beat the Titans and Sharks in the No.6 jersey. His performance against Cronulla truly caught the eye of legendary halfback Cooper Cronk. “A couple of injuries to other spine members for the Dolphins, but he has been sensational,” Cronk said. “The best 40 minutes in a Dolphins jersey because he has bounced around to different clubs. For the Dolphins, Nikorima is managing more try assists and linebreak assists in only seven games, compared to the 94 previous games he has started in first grade.