He may already be the GOAT, but a win for Souths over Penrith in this weekend’s NRL grand final would unquestionably be Wayne Bennett’s finest achievement.
The first coach to reach 10 grand finals, he’s already the first to do so with four clubs – Canberra, Brisbane, St George Illawarra and Souths.
Currently one of seven mentors to have coached different clubs to premiership success, Bennett would become the first man in the game’s 113-year history to guide three clubs to the title.
An eighth premiership would also match the mark set by Arthur Halloway between 1916-1945.
When you consider his State of Origin success with Queensland, as well as stints in charge of both Australia and England, and it’s a resume that simply can’t be matched.
“He will see this as his real chance to stand-alone amongst all coaches who have ever coached the game,” Phil Gould, another to have won premierships at two clubs, said on 100% Footy.
“Your other great coaches in the game, like Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy, have all been at the one club for a long time, as he was with the Broncos.
“He won six titles there, but he went off the Dragons and he won, and he’s been looking for another club to get another premiership.”
Regardless of the outcome at Suncorp Stadium, Gould said 2021 could be considered a step forward for the Rabbitohs, who were beaten in the preliminary final in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and Bennett is the key factor in that outcome.
“He’s succeeded,” Gould explained.
“All year we’ve known that Melbourne and Penrith were the two best teams, they were going to get through to the grand final.
“Because of the weakness in the competition, South Sydney were able to win a lot of games during the year to keep pace, and the two games where they played against the Panthers and Melbourne they got beat by 50.”
It’s those two results that hang like a dark cloud over the Rabbitohs. No team has every conceded 50 points or more in the season they won the premiership. But in the space of 17 days in May, the Storm thrashed Souths 50-0, before Penrith whacked the Rabbitohs 56-6.
That’s a stat that doesn’t concern Gould.
READ MORE: Gallen’s warning to NRL stars amid new scandal
READ MORE: David Warner dropped by IPL team
READ MORE: ‘Filthy’ great admits he was sucked in by Storm
READ MORE: Ashes twist as England star retires from Tests
“When that happened I said, ‘He hasn’t started coaching them yet. He’ll let them bumble and fumble their way along until they start to listen, and when they get to the point where they listen to him, then he’ll start his finals surge’,” he said.
“He’s got to the finals in good shape, (but) he lost Latrell Mitchell, and I could tell by the look on his face that was devastating.”
Writing in his weekly column for Wide World of Sports, premiership-winning captain Paul Gallen was in no doubt that Bennett is the best of all time.
“His man management skills are second to none, I played under him in the All-Stars and even in the limited time I had with him, the amount of care and compassion he had for his players was evident,” Gallen wrote.
“He called me to his room one day and we chatted for about an hour, he’s just an outstanding guy.”
Gallen pointed to the examples of two players at opposite ends of their careers as evidence of Bennett’s influence at Souths: Benji Marshall and Blake Taaffe.
“The way Wayne has managed him (Marshall) this year has been perfect,” Gallen explained.
“There’s been games where Benji hasn’t even been on the field, or he only had a short stint.
“That’s been ideal for Benji and for Souths. He’s used his experience, both as a footballer and as a person, helping the younger guys in the side, but he hasn’t overplayed him. Wayne knows exactly how to use him, and it’s been a blessing for Benji, he hasn’t had to slug it out for 80 minutes week-in, week out, guiding the team around the park.”
The grand final will be just the eighth NRL match for Taaffe, but if anyone knows how to guide a rookie player through the pressure of a decider, it’s Bennett.
“Everyone was saying Wayne was taking a risk when he came into the side, but Wayne wouldn’t have put him there if he didn’t think he could do the job,” Gallen said.
“Wayne’s the greatest coach of all time, he knows what he’s doing, and Blake’s already had a couple of blinders.”
Bennett’s time in charge of Souths will end on Sunday, regardless of the outcome. While he’s been linked to a role with a possible 17th club in 2023 or 2024, there’s every chance this will be his last match as a head coach.
“If this is Wayne Bennett’s final match as coach, it’s appropriate it’s a grand final at Suncorp Stadium,” Gallen said.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!