The Wayne Bennett Super thread!

[Unbreakable]

We may not have the perfect players in key positions, but if they care and compete we can do something.

@Andrew McCullough?

 

[Foordy]

There is an interview with Bennett in the courier mail today...

In part 2 tomorrow, he apparently reveals where he plans on playing Milford.

Also lol at the headline "Bennett's boys slay Dragons " when he had nothing to do with the NYC side that made the GF

 

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett outlines his vision to return the club to glory

What kind of playing style will the Broncos adopt next season?
I won’t change too much. The game is kind of evolving all the time and that is a bigger issue than the game itself. Outside of that, things are still the same. You still have to have good defensive plays, you have to control the ball for six tackles, you need good shape in your attack. I just want the right people to have the same belief I’ve got and that’s how I want the guys to play. To be a Broncos player, you have to be prepared to play well every week, because your opposition will be ready for you. No one comes unmotivated to play the Broncos. I’ve been away six years and that situation doesn’t really exist much outside the Broncos. Everyone is always ready to play. At other clubs, you pick up some easy games, they underestimate you, but no one underestimates the Broncos.

Other teams have worked overtime on the wrestle and mastered it. Will you follow suit?
No, but they have a distinct advantage, because they control the ruck and when you control the ruck you control the game. It’s something I’m buying into more and more, but I can’t get serious about it. It’s not the way I see the game and believe the game to be. We have won competitions without it and I’m confident with the right players we will give it a shake again. I’m not paranoid like some coaches are. I love the game too much to spoil it. I want the fans to enjoy the game. I don’t want a battle that’s on the ground and no one is entertained because they are laying all over the top of blokes. We’re in the entertainment business now. The game in the 1990s and the mid-2000s was the game I loved, it was a great product. There are still some great games today but we have to understand we are in opposition with a lot of other codes. If we get boring and dull that’s OK, the hardened league guy will watch the game, but I’m telling you, we won’t get new fans and we won’t get those people sitting on the edge. They will flick off TVs and watch something else.

You are scrapping the co-captains system. Why?
I’ve never been a fan ... somebody is responsible, somebody has to take ownership. I can’t get my head around co-captains. You have one boss, one captain, simple as that. At least we know good, bad or indifferent, we can put things around them to prop them up, but the bottom line is when things happen on the field and I have to nail somebody, I don’t want shared responsibility. I don’t want one guy saying I was waiting for him to do something. If it works for other clubs, that’s great but not at my club. I often feel the co-captaincy is just an excuse because you didn’t want to tell one guy he didn’t have the captaincy.

Is Sam Thaiday a contender for the captaincy?
It’s too early for me to decide on that now. I’ve told the group there will be no co-captains and I’ve told them I’ll be watching what they do at training, how they conduct themselves and somewhere down the track, when somebody has emerged that will be the best captain, that’s the decision I’ll make. There are so many unanswered questions about this team.

One of those is fullback. Who will play there?
Well, Darius Boyd is potentially the best of them all if he was here. I’d like him to come back but right now I don’t know. The other boys are all capable. I have to get to training and see what they bring and don’t bring. I need to watch videos. I know how I want them to play so anyone that can get close to that, I’ll have them in the team. I have no idea how Darius is. We haven’t had any conversations since he went overseas. He sought the treatment (for depression), so he obviously felt there was something not quite right with him.

What are your views on Anthony Milford and what he can bring to the club?
I am excited to be working with Anthony and Ben Hunt (halfback) is also a wonderful player. I have a big job there. I need to get a kid to play five-eighth for us who is only 20 and he’s coming to a big club. That’s not going to be as easy as we think it’s going to be, because it is going to take a while for Anthony to adjust to it. I’m happy to take the pain with that. If we can get Ben and Anthony to be the players we have seen this year, if we can get them to gel, there’s a decade ahead of them in the key positions on the football field. There is no one keener than me to make it work for those two boys. It will be the first part of the jigsaw that will come together for us.

So Milford is locked in at five-eighth?
Yes he is and I’ll tell you, I’m going to persevere with him. He’s got X-factor about him. I’ve seen what Anthony can do at fullback but that won’t be where he plays right now. The club doesn’t have a five-eighth so we need one of those more than we need a fullback. He’s quite a talent, if I can help him along his journey. They are only young men so if I get it right it can set the Broncos up for the next seven to 10 years. That’s what we did with Alf (Allan Langer) and Kevin (Walters). I made a tough call with Wally Lewis at the time, but they were to go on and be a part of four or five premierships. We had wonderful players but they were the cornerstone of the team. They were the guys who made it all happen. It’s such a crucial position those guys play. They have youth and tremendous ability.

Ben Barba finished the year at five-eighth. Where does that leave him?
That’s all to be determined. Right now I have no firm view until I get to training and see what they do well and don’t do well. But the halfback and five-eighth ... I am very clear on that.


Does Barba have a future at the club?
He’s an exciting talent, but he just hasn’t had his best year. He’s had a couple of horrific injuries on that ankle and I really feel it’s confidence with Ben. I just hope we get to work with him and I can get some confidence in him. He needs a good off-season, and he played the whole season (this year), so that’s a promising sign. It can be that simple sometimes. People look for these deep answers but Ben only needs regular footy, some confidence and he can blast off again. You have to recognise something is not quite right, but it’s not like Ben has lost it. He hasn’t, it’s just getting it back and finding what triggers it.


You gave Anthony Griffin his first job at the Broncos. Do you feel for him?
Of course I felt for Anthony (when he was axed). I gave him a job when the under-20s started, but we all live by the sword in our business. I feel for him, but I understand it could have been me. That’s coaching.


Russell Packer ... the Broncos put together an offer?

Unfortunately Russell won’t be coming to the Broncos. I received a call from his manager (on Friday night) advising me that Russell is going to go in a different direction and look at offers from other clubs. He won’t be here next year.


Are you disappointed?
I am. I was looking forward to working with Russell as a person and footballer. He would have brought some toughness, he is one tough dude on the field. A bit of aggression is needed in a football team and the best ones have a guy like him. He’s pretty skilful too, he carries the ball well for a big fella. I like the skill in his game. But he’s got some legal bills and a young family to provide for so I understand he has to do the best thing by them.


Will the NRL register any contract for Packer?
He will be back in rugby league, I just don’t know what the time frame is.


I know you don’t read papers but would you chuckle at the ‘Master Returns’ headlines?
That’s today. In six months time if we’re having a tough time, I’ll be copping it. I have been at it too long now. When I started my coaching career, the journos said I’d never make it past that year and that was 37 years ago. One of my favourite sayings is that if I start listening to the fans and the journos, it won’t be long before I’m sitting with them. I accept what goes with it these days, I understand it a bit better. I don’t beat myself up anymore, I kind of don’t care. The media just don’t get that with me. They don’t get why I do it and they don’t get that what they write and say about me will not worry me. It just doesn’t worry me. What worries me is how I feel about me and what I have done or haven’t done.

Why doesn’t it bother you?
Because I don’t take myself too seriously. I don’t get on an absolute high when I’m on top, and I don’t get on an absolute low when I’m down the bottom. I try to keep the middle ground. I treat victory and failure with the same reaction. But I always ask, have I done the best job? Have I done it right? That’s how I handle it.

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[Anonymous person]

So the gist of it is that Barba is definitely out if we get Boyd, and Milford is definitely 5/8th no matter what happens.

Goddamn Bennett.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Well. . That settles that then. A lot of honesty for bennett. Wow

 

[ningnangnong]

Man, it's actually interesting to read Bennett's thoughts - if that was a whole bunch of answers from Hook, I probably would've skimmed it.

No Packer. :rockon:

 

[broncos4life]

So the gist of it is that Barba is definitely out if we get Boyd, and Milford is definitely 5/8th no matter what happens.

Goddamn Bennett.

No not really. Said that he is looking forward to working with barba and getting his confidence back. If he can do that barba will still be here

 

[Foordy]

No not really. Said that he is looking forward to working with barba and getting his confidence back. If he can do that barba will still be here

If Bennett can get Barba's confidence back and slim him down (i.e. undo Griffins bulking program) then he could become a devastating fullback again

you don't win the Dally M medal or be the top try scorer in the comp 2 years in a row by fluke.

 

[jarro65]

If Bennett can get Barba's confidence back and slim him down (i.e. undo Griffins bulking program) then he could become a devastating fullback again

you don't win the Dally M medal or be the top try scorer in the comp 2 years in a row by fluke.

Exactly.

Offseason work on Barba (confidence and fitness) will be invaluable to us come 2015.

He can bounce back i'm sure.

 

[Unbreakable]

Massive respect for Bennett for being so open and honest, I'm glad we've got a couple of things set in stone so early.

A) Hunt & Milford in the Halves for years to come
B) Packer not coming
C) Fullback will be Boyd, if he comes, Barba if he doesn't

I agree with all 3 of those decisions whole heartedly to be honest, I think it's in our best interest to persevere with Milford at Five-Eighth, within a couple of years I honestly think he'll be in origin contention to replace Thurston when he retires.

Packer is a loser, I never wanted him, great news that he's looking elsewhere, hopefully this means that we keep Hannant or sign Merrin, I don't mind out of the two, hopefully Hannant mans up and accepts that back-ended deal, it's his best chance at winning a premiership before he retires in 3-4 years.

Boyd > Barba, I'm sad for Barba because I've seen what the guy can do when fully fit, confident and thin.. but none of those 3 were apparent last season, he's less than 2 years younger than Boyd, it's not like we're losing a super duper young talent to get Darius, and with the revealing of Milford 100% being Five-Eighth, we need a solid head at the back, someone consistent and good under the high ball (Yes AP, we know Boyd was bad this year), Boyd is clearly the better option out of the two imo.

 

[Anonymous person]

No not really. Said that he is looking forward to working with barba and getting his confidence back. If he can do that barba will still be here

Where? Barba won't play off the bench, and he's not a winger/center/hooker/forward, so he'll be playing left-right-out if we get Boyd. That read to me like the polite way of saying "I'll be happy to work with Barba if Boyd doesn't come here".

 

[Splinter]

This article is quite humorous and true

A HARD ACT TO FOL*LOW


The Sunday Mail (Queensland)
28 September 2014


BRONCOS fans should be over the moon with Wayne Bennett’s announcement that he intends to stay at the club forever.
And not just because The Messiah could lead them to another premiership or two before he stops coaching.
It’s also because he won’t stop them winning premierships after he hangs up the clipboard.
I bumped into a long-time rugby league insider during the week. This bloke has done just about everything there is to do in the game and has forgotten more about footy than most of us will ever know.
We got to talking about Bennett and why he is as successful as he is.
Obviously there is a list as long as Willie Mason’s arm but this bloke made an observation that shone a light on one element of Bennett’s character that many people overlook. He’s as cunning as a fox. “Have you noticed that whenever he leaves a club he replaces himself with his assistant?” he said.
“Ivan Henjak, Steve Price … even when he pulled out of going to go back to the Broncos a few years back they signed Anthony Griffin.
“Now it’s Rick Stone at Newcastle who they signed without interviewing anyone else.
“Bennett always goes to the board, tells them he’s leaving and says, ‘but don’t worry. I’ve been training my assistant to take over. He knows all the drills, the players love him. You won’t know the difference.’
“Who’s going to argue with Bennett?
“People think Wayne’s a great bloke because he’s handed the reins to his mate and left the club in good hands. What he’s really doing is throwing the keys to someone who isn’t up to it and going somewhere else thinking, ‘that’s one club I don’t have to worry about’.”
Have to admit it seemed a bit far-fetched to me, but when you look at it, since Bennett left the Broncos at the end of 2008 not one coach has seen out their contract.
If I was signing a coach in the hope that he would bring me the same success that he brought his last club, I think I’d be pretty happy to think that he wasn’t doing the opposition any favours.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say he is sabotaging his old clubs, but you have to admit it does wonders for the Bennett brand for people to think that he has some magic formula.
How many times do you see a coach go back to a club he has coached previously? Not many.
Bennett’s mentor Jack Gibson did it at the Roosters, Bennett is doing it at the Broncos, and if the money was right he would have done it at the Dragons.
So maybe Bennett does have a magic formula, but it’s made up with a lot more than just one ingredient.
As my man and I spoke about Bennett during the week the conversation drifted to the list of candidates for the coaching job at Wests Tigers.
He ran through them one by one and listed their strengths and weaknesses.
As each weakness came up I found myself saying, “Yeah, that’s something Wayne Bennett does well.”
Now I can add a new one: pick a replacement.
Something tells me Stone shouldn’t get too comfortable in Wayne’s old Knights office.


Copyright © 2012 NewspaperDirect Inc.

 

[broncos4life]

Where? Barba won't play off the bench, and he's not a winger/center/hooker/forward, so he'll be playing left-right-out if we get Boyd. That read to me like the polite way of saying "I'll be happy to work with Barba if Boyd doesn't come here".

Why won't he play off the bench? How do you know? He is contracted to us for the next 2 years and no one will take him so he will play where ever the **** he is told to

 

[Cult]

Where? Barba won't play off the bench, and he's not a winger/center/hooker/forward, so he'll be playing left-right-out if we get Boyd. That read to me like the polite way of saying "I'll be happy to work with Barba if Boyd doesn't come here".

I love that we have so many people with tight connections to the Broncos on here who are willing to release this kind of information.

 

[Mr Fourex]

Where? Barba won't play off the bench, and he's not a winger/center/hooker/forward, so he'll be playing left-right-out if we get Boyd. That read to me like the polite way of saying "I'll be happy to work with Barba if Boyd doesn't come here".

That's pretty much the way I read it too ...

 

[Mr Fourex]

Why won't he play off the bench? How do you know? He is contracted to us for the next 2 years and no one will take him so he will play where ever the **** he is told to

The bolded is under some current scrutiny.....

where is this information coming from?

and you're not allowed to say Dobbo on tripleM.

 

[Mr Fourex]

This article is quite humorous and true

A HARD ACT TO FOL*LOW


The Sunday Mail (Queensland)
28 September 2014

I wouldn’t go so far as to say he is sabotaging his old clubs, but you have to admit it does wonders for the Bennett brand for people to think that he has some magic formula.




Copyright © 2012 NewspaperDirect Inc.

I've said it more than once that he white anted the Broncos as he was leaving .....

 

[Porthoz]

Stone was the Newcastle coach prior to Wayne being recruited, and was doing a fairly good job of rebuilding the club too (which is why I thought at the time, the whole thing was pretty unfair for Rick Stone), so I don't think this theory really flies... although, you can argue that despite some very promising kids coming through, Wayne isn't leaving Newcastle in better shape than he received.