You can keep King Charles, Wayne Bennett’s crown is sitting pretty as ever after his Dolphins conjured a stunning 36-16 demolition of premiership front-runners Cronulla to mark his 900th first grade match.
As the royal family marked the latest juncture in their history, rugby league’s most enduring figurehead masterminded one of the year’s more astounding carve-ups, the Dolphins rattling up 30 first-half points in as many minutes before keeping the Sharks at bay.
Cronulla came into the contest in second place and $1.25 favourites with the bookmakers. They left with marquee half Nicho Hynes and flyer Sione Katoa on report and little else to report.
Bennett, meanwhile, had little interest in celebrating his milestone match all week, to the point he threatened to walk out on a pre-game press conference if questions about his achievements kept coming.
The most he would offer was at least one for the books – telling reporters, while well into his fourth decade carrying a clipboard, that “I never thought about being a coach. It’s not something I wanted to do. I’m still not sure if I want to be a coach.”
Valynce Te Whare made an unforgettable debut for the Dolphins.Credit: Getty
For the highly touted rugby union convert Valynce Te Whare, who now sits only 899 appearances short of his coach, his first outing in bright lights finished with a brace of tries and a bit of brilliance.
Te Whare was mowing lawns at Redcliffe last year after being recruited from New Zealand.
When he stepped out at Suncorp Stadium, he chewed up and spat out three Sharks defenders, powering past some flimsy efforts from a standing start for a memorable maiden try.
His four-pointer was the highlight of seven in the first 40 minutes, the Sharks’ middle defence exposed repeatedly by Jeremy Marshall-King and Kodi Nikorima.
Bennett may have even cracked that Clint Eastwood smirk when it was Anthony Milford, one of the most maligned players he’s ever coached, who put a briefly threatened Cronulla comeback on ice.
Te Whare’s second try was put on a platter by Milford, who came off the bench, broke the line and then flicked a beauty out the back for the 22-year-old to score in front of a personal cheer squad that had flown in from New Zealand.
Te Whare’s earlier try was the Dolphins’ third and came in just the 22nd minute. When Connelly Leumelu and Tesi Niu joined the scoresheet, the Dolphins had 30 points in as many minutes.
Cronulla’s own flurry of four-pointers did come, eventually. Ronaldo Mulitalo and Will Kennedy scored within four minutes of each, the latter thanks to a superb flick pass from Siosifa Talakai before half-time.
The Dolphins had the jitters after the break and gave the visitors more than one crack at getting up from the canvas.
An unhappy night for Hynes, who never stopped trying but struggled at times with both his hands and the boot, was matched by several teammates as the Sharks completed at just 63 per cent and never truly threatened.
The Dolphins are now back in the top eight and will put their feet up with the bye next week.
And for Bennett, not a bad night to be a coach after all.
