Wayne Bennett, during a lifetime in rugby league, reckons he has overcome bigger challenges than this.
Many have predicted the Dolphins, due to a lack of lead time after being handed the NRL’s 17th licence, have been set up to fail; that the short turnaround has made it impossible to assemble a competitive squad for their inaugural season.
The veteran coach, speaking on the eve of the club’s first genuine trial, against North Queensland at Cairns’ Barlow Park on Sunday, doesn’t see it that way.
“Not really, I don’t have any of those feelings,” Bennett says. “I’ve done it before [at Brisbane] – it was 35 years ago, so it’s not like it’s something I haven’t done before. It was a long time, but I’ve learnt a lot of things on the journey as well.
“We had less time [at the Broncos]. They told us in May or June that we had a team and we played the following season. We’ve had enough time. No one wants to be sitting around for two years waiting for a franchise to [start] after being given the go ahead. No one at this club has complained. It’s not an issue for us.
“We haven’t got the full squad yet, but we’ve been prudent with what we’ve done and how we’ve done it. I’m happy enough with what we’ve got, there’s no one disappointed here.”
Wayne Bennett puts the Dolphins through their paces during pre-season.Credit:Getty
The Dolphins gave a host of youngsters a run last week in the club’s first hit-out, a 24-8 win over the Central Queensland Capras in Mackay. Sunday’s clash with the Cowboys marks the club’s first official trial and a host of familiar names, headlined by Anthony Milford and boom youngster Isaiya Katoa, will get to show what the newbies stand for.
When legendary administrator Paul “Porky” Morgan hired Bennett to launch the Broncos, his only instruction was to ensure that everyone who pulled on the jersey gave it their all. While Bennett won’t make any bold predictions about how the Redcliffe-based outfit will fare – “I’m not in the expectation business” – he will expect his players to go out with the same attitude.
“If you look at my coaching career, that’s part of my DNA,” he says.
The bookmakers have already written the Dolphins off, installing them as short-priced wooden spoon favourites. However, that isn’t a source of motivation for the seven-times premiership-winning coach.
“We’re not going to miss that opportunity, we’re not going to waste 20 to 30 years of not getting our own kids to play for the Dolphins.”
Wayne Bennett
“It may be for some, but it’s not for me,” Bennett says. “I don’t buy into that stuff; it does your head in. It runs out of gas pretty quick. It’s a bit like trying to motivate the unmotivated; it never works.”
Having overseen 981 first-grade matches, Bennett knows what success looks like. The blueprint that powered the Broncos and has now propelled Penrith to the top of the league is the one he will work from.
“We are more similar to Penrith, this club, to many of the others,” Bennett explains. “When Penrith came in during the ’60s, they already had a foundation there. This club here also has a foundation.
“We have six full-time staff right now working in our corridor [scouting juniors]. We’re not going to miss that opportunity, we’re not going to waste 20 to 30 years of not getting our own kids to play for the Dolphins. That is a big issue for us. I believe in that stuff.
“When the Broncos won the 2006 premiership, we had 16 or 17 players who came to us as 17-year-olds. I know that works because that’s what we built the Broncos on. We’re a development club, but at the same time, we will pick up a player when we need to, which we did at the Broncos.
“We bought Glenn Lazarus, probably the best buy we made at the time. He made such a difference. That will be the Dolphins’ mantra: we’ll develop our own, and if we need to pick one up with the other model, we’ll do that.
“In the ’90s when Penrith had success, you’ll find they had a lot of those [home-grown] players. Your Royce Simmons and [John] Cartwrights and [Brad] Izzards and [Greg] Alexanders and all of them, they came there as young men. I don’t know the stats on it, but there’s no doubt Penrith lost their way with their juniors for a while. They have got it together now really well.
“It’s not something I haven’t experienced. I know what we did when we built the Broncos and I know what we’re doing now with the Dolphins.”
The Dolphins haven’t yet unearthed their Lazarus. The club has made a play for a slew of marquee men, but hasn’t yet landed a really big signature. However, there are high hopes that youngsters Katoa, Jack Bostock, Mason Teague or Harrison Graham could develop into stars.
Wayne Bennett has won seven NRL titles, including this drought-breaking premiership with the Dragons in 2010, so he knows what makes a team tick.Credit:Wolter Peeters
While waiting for them to come good, the Dolphins may need to get creative with their recruitment. Perhaps All Black Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is on their radar?
“Any player of quality is of interest to us,” Bennett says. “The point is, does it fit our model, does it fit what we need? We’ve got Hamiso [Tabuai-Fidow] playing [fullback] here for us; he’s a player of the future, a wonderful young player. If you bring Sheck here, where does he go?
“But if you think you could make that work, you’d look at it. My point is nothing is set in concrete, everything is flexible. It’s a moving beast, trying to make this work here and that work there.
“You don’t want to be wasting your money when you bring him in here and upsetting what you’ve got.
“We want to build our own marquee players for the long term, that’s my desire here. The [Allan] Langers, the [Steve] Renoufs, the [Kevin and Steve] Walters, the [Shane] Webckes, the [Brad] Thorns – they went onto become great players for the Broncos.
“That’s the plan in my head, to make our own. If we can’t buy one, we’ll get the right young kids who will become great players in the future.”
