South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett returned to Canberra this week, where his legendary career kick-started 32 years ago, looking to book a spot in a record-extending 10th grand final.
Bennett’s career outside of Brisbane club rugby league began at the Raiders in 1987 when alongside co-coach Don Furner he guided the Green Machine to the grand final.
Bennett took the Brisbane job the following year and won six premierships in two decades at the Broncos.
More than 30 years after his arrival in Canberra, Bennett, now at South Sydney, is one win away from yet another grand final with the Rabbitohs facing the Raiders on Friday night.
The 69-year-old admits he never thought his coaching career would live past his Canberra contract but seven premierships later and Bennett is considered one of the best of all time.
“It’s a pretty volatile job, coaching. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do what I’ve done,” Bennett said.
“I remember when I went back to Brisbane I had an opportunity to build a house … and I remember making a very conservative house because I didn’t think I’d last more than three years.
“I’ve just been lucky and I’ve worked with Don Furner here (in Canberra). He was wonderful to work with and the club was great to me.
“I’ve got nothing but praise for (Canberra) and what they did for me.”
An age-old adage goes there are only two types of coaches: sacked ones and ones yet to be sacked.
Bennett appears to be the exception and it’s often said his relationship with players is behind his incredible longevity.
“I started as a young coach and it wasn’t a career plan. I was just coaching under-20s and under-18s (then) I started to coach in Brisbane but I found that I had to make players to get the job done,” Bennett said.
“That’s the best thing that happened to me in my coaching career because I’m pretty confident now that any player that comes to me, that I can, you know, help them get along on the journey and make them a little bit better and I enjoy doing that, I get a thrill out of that.
“(It goes) back to my early days of coaching when we didn’t have the players and had to make players. I remember having a halfback who couldn’t pass the ball so I wouldn’t let him pass the ball.
“We played in a grand final but he did a great job defensively and that was the only option I had, so you learn to cope.”