All eyes will be on Wayne Bennett when the Dolphins host the Broncos in a must-win blockbuster clash at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
Not only are the cross-city rivals playing to keep their finals hopes alive, but Bennett has a well-documented history with the Broncos following a “bitter divorce” from the club.
Bennett was the Broncos’ inaugural coach in 1988 and led the club through to the end of the 2008 season. Following stints with the Dragons and Knights, Bennett returned to Red Hill in 2015 and guided the team to a grand final appearance that year.
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However things took a turn and he was sensationally sacked via a voice message at the end of 2018.
Although nearly six years have passed since then, journalist Paul Crawley believes the 74-year-old is still holding “resentment” over what happened with the Broncos.
And that, according to Crawley, will fuel Bennett ahead of the showdown with his former club.
“Both coaches are under pressure. Kevvie’s been under pressure all year… but I can’t exclude the fact Wayne is under huge pressure going into this game,” Crawley said on NRL 360.
“For him it would be personal. He was sent packing from the club, it was a very bitter divorce.
“He’s held resentment against the club for what happened back then and won’t come out and say this, but he would like nothing more than to beat the Broncos in this game.”
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Gorden Tallis, who was coached by Bennett at the Broncos, believes both coaches have skin in the game — Kevin Walters was once sacked as an assistant by Bennett.
But he thinks one will be a little extra motivated.
“There’s no doubt Kevvie would want to get one over Wayne… but I reckon Wayne (would want) one over the club more because there’s a bit more bad blood there,” he said.
But Tallis is expecting the emotion to trickle down to the players too given both clubs are Brisbane-based and have been building a rivalry since the Dolphins’ entrance to the competition last season.
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“When you’re in Brisbane, you know it’s a rugby league city, flags are everywhere, it’s on the radio, So I think the players are under a lot of pressure too,” he said.
“You saw (Broncos centre) Kotoni Staggs last year when it went right down to the wire, he scores in the corner and says ‘this is our house.’ So I think everyone’s under the pump.”
Adding to the pressure on Bennett is the fact that the Dolphins aren’t playing up to expectations.
The Dolphins had a red-hot start to the season and were in the top four after 15 rounds. But they have since lost nine of their last 12 games and now sit 10th.
The NRL 360 panel raised legitimate things that could be hurting the Dolphins — injuries, an ageing forward pack and lack of depth — but Crawley believes it all comes down to ill-discipline.
“I also think Wayne, if he was looking at the record this year… I wouldn’t say the team’s not playing for him because they’ve fought hard in most of those games, but when you think about a Bennett-coached team they always say good defence and they don’t beat themselves,” he said.
“Well, this year on too many occasions the Dolphins; have beaten themselves with silly errors.
“…simple mistakes where guys are letting themselves down too often, which just backfires on the team. That’s not how Bennett coaches teams to play.
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Tallis also highlighted that in the three games the Dolphins have won throughout this challenging three-month period, they’ve still conceded 28 points, 28 points and 32 points.
“That’s not normally a Wayne Bennett-coached side,” he said.
Crawley said to Tallis that Bennett “would have to be disappointed” to what his team is dishing up, to which Tallis responded: “absolutely.”
“Wayne Bennett’s sides, for the the history of his whole career, they don’t beat themselves. And this side’s beating themselves so there’s something on the training paddock that’s gone (wrong),” Tallis added.
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