THE WAYNE BENNETT INFLUENCE
Q
Back to your playing days. PreRaiders, you won a Brisbane premiership for Souths in 1985 under Wayne Bennett. Has he changed much since then? A
I knew him very well back then but I don’t know him now so I don’t know how much he has changed. He was very good, he really helped my career. He was one of the better coaches I had, no doubt about it.
We were playing against some great sides and we got smacked in a couple of grand finals by Wynnum Manly who had Wally Lewis and Gene Miles and Greg Dowling. It was an amazing side. In ’82’ and ’84 they beat us but in ’85 we came back against all odds and had a really important win for Souths. Q
How did that premiership stack up with those you won at Canberra? A
Souths was my junior club. I played there since I was six and all I wanted to do was play first grade at Souths so to win that grand final was very important and I had had a few grand final demons, I hadn’t played well.
It stacks up probably just on a slightly lower level but at the time it was really special to me. Q
The 1989 grand final in which your Canberra side famously beat Balmain ... do you still think about it? A
I get reminded of it. I am really proud of being part of it. The fans down there still hold that era really close to their hearts. Looking back, we had a pretty amazing team.
It was a really strong era of footy. I’m proud of it and I think of it a bit. I don’t have the video sitting in my recorder to play at any time but I get reminded of it often.