A flying Isaako’s Bennett thanks
A “reborn” Jamayne Isaako has credited Wayne Bennett and abandoning the pressures of fullback for resurrecting his NRL career.
Isaako will celebrate his 100th NRL appearance in career-best form when the Dolphins host the Dragons at Kayo Stadium on Thursday night.
After being dumped to reserve grade by the Broncos and Titans last year, Isaako has rekindled his magic touch under Bennett at Redcliffe.
Nicknamed ‘The Ice Man’ for his clutch goalkicking, Isaako was crowned the NRL’S Dally M rookie-of-the-year in 2018 after scoring 11 tries in 25 games. But he hit some turbulent times during the dramatic crash of the Broncos from 2019-21 and was eventually shown the door by Brisbane coach Kevin Walters last year.
A mid-season shift to the Titans failed to ignite Isaako, but he has burst back to life at Redcliffe to be one of the NRL’S top recruits for 2023.
“It’s a bit hard to say who’s actually been our best, but he’s in our top three players every week,” Bennett said.
“He was in a pretty bad place the last couple of years. The Jamayne we saw at 19 years’ of age, we haven’t seen for quite a long time.
“He was one of the first players I recruited when I came here because I knew that if we put him in the right environment he’d flourish in it and that’s what he’s done.”
Isaako hailed Bennett’s influence and impact.
“I am playing decent football again and Wayne is a massive factor in that,” he said.
“I had an honest chat with Wayne and I said ‘I’m not a fullback’. At the back, there is a lot of thinking and a lot of pressure to steer the team around.
“On the wing, it’s free flowing, I just have to catch high balls and score tries and that pressure release for myself helped.”