Mr Nice Guy may not stick around

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Februari 2015 | 23.51

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WAYNE Bennett walked into the press launch of the World Club Series in Manchester, England on Monday night and did 10 media interviews in an hour. At which point the Broncos' tour captain Andrew McCullough sidled over and asked, "You feeling okay, coach?"

Truth is, Bennett is feeling better than okay. After five years coaching in New South Wales he is back in his heartland of Queensland, guiding once more the club whose growth he oversaw from birth to maturity and, for now at least, all is good with Wayne's world.

Bennett's new-found ease with the press is one of the unexpected byproducts of his time away from the Broncos.

He was relaxed to the point of being downright jovial on Monday night, a far cry from the days in Brisbane where his public persona saw him once described as showing all the emotion of an Easter Island statue.

Wayne Bennett, pictured with former player Michael Hancock, has been in a jovial mood since arriving at the Broncos. Source: News Corp Australia

His players always spoke of his warmth and humour, but that was a side he kept locked away except from the chosen few. He admits his time south of the border saw him lift the shutters somewhat but says, now that he is back at the Broncos, there is no guarantee they won't come slamming back down again.

"I remember the first press conference I had at the Dragons and I quickly realised that if I wasn't successful in Sydney they were really going to tear me apart," he said.

"Up until that time it hadn't entered my head. There was a lot of talk that I'd gone down there to prove something but I didn't go to Sydney to prove anything. I didn't have to.

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"But I walked out of that conference and the tone of that meeting that day was, they're going to put it right up me if we don't play some good football and get some results.

"So that was the start and I remember going to the players and being frank to them about it and we got on with life and we got results, so they were off my back for three years, then Newcastle came along.

"If I felt more comfortable with the media there, it was because I knew that I was doing the best job I could under difficult circumstances. I wasn't trying to mask anything there because everybody could see what was happening so I was better off having that more relaxed approach.

"But neither of those clubs are the Broncos. The Broncos are under more scrutiny, more expectation than anywhere I've ever been.

"Coming back to that I know what I've got myself into and you are more on your guard at the Broncos than I was at the other clubs."

So, no more Mr Nice Guy?

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"Well that, just depends. If we struggle a little bit, which is always on the cards, then I'll be what I've always been, defending, making sure the flak is coming on my shoulders, not the players' or the club and I'm happy to do that until we get it right.

"We'll get it right; it's just a case of when.

"One thing I've felt coming back is that a lot of people are happy that I'm back and that's nice because it means they trust me and they've always trusted me and they know we'll get it right.

"It may not come early, but it will come and that's reassuring. You feel a great debt to them and a great obligation not to let them down because they trust you.

"A lot people in public life these days we don't trust as much as we should. I've been the public face of the Broncos for 21 years, I'm in my 22nd year now and I've been an NRL coach for 29 so I'm pleased they trust me."

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And in what should be equally reassuring to those people who put so much faith into Bennett, he says the experience he gained over the past five years has made him a better coach than the one who left the club after 532 games and six premierships.

"I went through some top experiences and some experiences that were extremely challenging," he said.

"At the Dragons we had great success and everything was rosy, and at the Knights, particularly last year, with what happened to Alex McKinnon, and Nathan Tinkler's position, and Russell Packer going to jail and the team being on the fringe a couple of times and then not finishing the season like we wanted, it was a complete contrast.

"Because of all that I know myself better now than I ever did. I know what works. I always knew what works, but I'm more committed to it now that I ever was because of my experiences away.

Wayne Bennett th Broncos fans. Source: News Corp Australia

"Those things, those basics, those fundamentals, still work, but you've got to get a bunch of guys to believe in them to make them work.

"I've got more confidence in myself now. Not that I wasn't confident, but you have more confidence that you're on the right track and you've just got to get a group of men to buy into that."

Given all that, and the almost messiah-like status Bennett enjoys in Queensland, it would seem a relatively easy task to slot straight back into the groove and have the Broncos purring along like a well-tuned Ferrari in no time at all.

Not exactly, he says. In fact, Bennett claims coaching the Broncos, for all their resources and talent, is the hardest job in the game.

"I know what's coming. I'm prepared. I'll wear the flak," he said.

"Newcastle and St George were great experiences for me and I had some wonderful times there but being at those clubs you aren't under the pressure that goes with being the Broncos coach, I can tell you now.

"I've been back with the Broncos for three months now and I've hardly been home because the Broncos is a lot more than a football club. We do so much for the community and we do it statewide. We've just spent three days in Murwillumbah for example.

"There's much more responsibility and you feel that but I'm happy to do that. I did it for 21 years.

A more stern version of Bennett could reappear if things go wrong at the Broncos. Source: News Corp Australia

"I didn't realise until I left the Broncos how much pressure I'd been under for 21 years because the other places were just a breeze. All I had to be at those clubs was be a coach. At the Broncos you are much, much more."

Which raises the question: There have been three previous coaches at the Broncos. The two that followed the first Bennett era, Ivan Henjak and Anthony Griffin, could not fill the huge boots that he left first time around.

Does he worry that he too, might fall short of living up to his own legacy?

"No I don't," he said. "That's the last thing on my mind. I'm starting fresh, but knowing the club, it's history, the culture and what I want.

"The one thing I'm very clear and definite about is what I want for the club. It's still same thing. It's what I've always wanted for the Broncos and I'll drive that until the very end."


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