The Wayne Bennet Premiership Franchise

[Bansai Pipeline]

I can't help but feel that St.George's and potentially Newcastle's Premierships under Wayne Bennet are somehow distasteful.

It's akin to buying then assembling a kit home.

Wayne comes in with Boyd and a grab bag of other rep level disciples in tow, puts the cleaners through the roster (or de-Canoes as Melon says) then let's his aura do the rest.

This may sound like a case of pot v kettle, what with our history with the cheque book.

But something about the Bennet franchise is more distasteful then us poaching every other club's halfback.

I don't know. Sure this sounds like sour grapes after 2010. It's not meant to.

I'm glad he backslid out of the deal to go to Easts.

Keep your gravitas you oily son of bitcch, Bennet.

[TheLoneRooster]

There is certainly something to your post Bansai. It seems to my cynical and biased mind that sides coached by the mercenary coach smiley benefit from officiating leniency not afforded other sides. Almost as though the officials are too scared of the mercenary with the resulting effect that his teams are allowed to get away with playing the way they want, rules be damned.

[Guest]

Bennets reputation is such that good players will come to a club he is coaching and play for less money under him because they think they are a better chance of winning a premiership.

[Guest]

I don't rate Bennett as highly as everyone else. He has had the entire Queensland junior base available to him for his entire coaching career. Players will always take a pay cut to stay closer to family and friends, and the Broncos had no teams nearby to compete with. They never got caught cheating the salary cap because they didn't need to. Given the personnel at his disposal I think he underachieved with the Broncos. The only freakish stat is the number of grand final wins vs appearances.

With the Dragons, he took them from first to first. Big fkn deal. If they lost to Tigers like they should have we'd still be calling them the chokers and waiting for them to choke again this year.

Bennett's real test will come at the Knights.

[Guest]

As Phillip Ronald say "NRL premierships are very hard to win"

I don't care how you do it or who with

He has done it 7 times and we have done it once in my lifetime

[ism22]

Bennets reputation is such that good players will come to a club he is coaching and play for less money under him because they think they are a better chance of winning a premiership.

Yeah that's the key...
For years now the Dragon's roster has been well over the cap (they simply have no players who haven't played rep footy.) That's not to say they cheat, I see it as more of an investment. If you play for the Dragons your value WILL go up and when you move on you WILL be paid more money.

I just get frustrated that the cap can stop cheating, but it can't stop players accepting contracts worth far less than their market value. I wish there was some kind of market value mechanism, or a more open market for stars rather than behind the scenes wheeling/dealing. Oh well, doubt such things will change.

One thing Wayne has done is WRECKED the Dragons reserve grade/NYC teams. Both are failing hopelessly (as are ours this year, but IMO we have a far more balanced team across the grades, and many Jets players end up being NRL quality.)

[Guest]

I don't rate Bennett as highly as everyone else. He has had the entire Queensland junior base available to him for his entire coaching career. Players will always take a pay cut to stay closer to family and friends, and the Broncos had no teams nearby to compete with. They never got caught cheating the salary cap because they didn't need to. Given the personnel at his disposal I think he underachieved with the Broncos. The only freakish stat is the number of grand final wins vs appearances.

With the Dragons, he took them from first to first. Big fkn deal. If they lost to Tigers like they should have we'd still be calling them the chokers and waiting for them to choke again this year.

Bennett's real test will come at the Knights.

I didn't want his tainted presence here either.
I agree about the Broncos too. He had the SOO team, virtually.Even I could have coached them and Canberra at most stages. He built his name and his aura with these teams.
I think they probably did go well over the salary cap but their connections were/are too clever.

[Guest]

Funniest thread I have ever read. If we got him and won he would be the greatest and our title "well deserved". He has earned his reputation by winning. We chose a coach who has earned a reputation for .......... You fill in the blank.

[Guest]

Good post kobber, I agree with you.

[ism22]

Apples and oranges...

Wayne wins GFs with champions (a task in itself... anything can happen on GF day. He knows how to prepare players to win on that day.) Bennett is good at making sure the #1 team isn't fooled by any sneaky, unorthodox tricks on the day. Sometimes he fails! (e.g. 2009... oh and against the 2010 Raiders! NO Dragons fans wanted a Dragons/Raiders GF.)

Smith takes on $hit teams and gives them a shot at the world title, Rocky Balboa style. He can battle out unlikely wins against the odds using an unorthodox style. He also has this rags to riches syle where we always need to be losers before we can string together a few wins.

Unfortunately Rocky is just a movie and in reality the bum who gets a shot at the title usually loses, while looking stupid at the same time. They then fall from grace and continue their lives as bums... aaaw why are the movies always kinder on bums?

[Guest]

I cant agree with some of the comments..he turns up at the Dragons and they've been sitting top of the ladder every year and are doing so again...won a premiership and will be in the hunt again this year...I always thought he had an unfair advantage at the Broncos...but seeing what he's now doing at the Dragons I rue whoever botched the deal to have him out our club...once in he would have fixed our club and made us successful...and Tinkler wouldn't have been able to prise him off Nick's paws once he had him ...

[Guest]

Funniest thread I have ever read. If we got him and won he would be the greatest and our title "well deserved". He has earned his reputation by winning. We chose a coach who has earned a reputation for .......... You fill in the blank.

And had we gotten the rub of the green to win the GF you would have blamed the Chokers for choking again and given credit to players like Carney. No way you would have blamed Bennett for suppressing talent with the most boring playing style in the competition, or credited Smith for encouraging the attacking abilities of the youngest team in the comp as he did in 2001.

[Guest]

And had we gotten the rub of the green to win the GF you would have blamed the Chokers for choking again and given credit to players like Carney. No way you would have blamed Bennett for suppressing talent with the most boring playing style in the competition, or credited Smith for encouraging the attacking abilities of the youngest team in the comp as he did in 2001.

And if Crocker holds that pass and we win the GF against the dogs...........

[Guest]

And if Crocker holds that pass and we win the GF against the dogs...........

Same with Cross dropping the ball, Hegarty dropping the ball, Mini butchering a try with obstruction, interpretation of the El Masri try, worst completion rate of the entire year in 2nd half, etc.

At least you acknowledge there is more to it than just the coach.

[Kingbilly]

or Fttler pulling his finger out we win 3 GFs