More like as masterful as ever. Shift the talk to the Broncos undermining him instead of talking about the pressure his players are under next week.
Exactly this. Vintage Bennett.
Here's a summary of what Mascord said in 2010:
1. When his team wins he says very little to ensure his players get the attention.
2. When his team loses he gives expansive answers and happily discusses side issues to deflect attention from his players’ performance.
3. When his team plays poorly he will only praise players in need of a confidence boost.
4. The first questions of a press conference always get a short answer so he can show who is in charge.
5. Bennett is on first-name basis with at least one local reporter. Unknown reasons.
6. Unless contractually obliged, Bennett only does one-on-one interviews with the ABC — all other digital media miss out.
7. Bennett gives up a lot of his time to help journalists working on feature stories. But he won’t go anywhere near providing on-the-record quotes for a journalist chasing a news story.
8. Once a year Bennett tells his club it’s time for his annual one-on-one media day when he holds court. It’s normally a distraction at a time in the season when his players are under pressure.
You might've noticed he'll smirk and ask after Dobbo or Pete when he enters the room, but when questions start it's always initially curt.