logo
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett staying calm despite mounting pressure

South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett staying calm despite mounting pressure

7NEWS17-07-2025
Wayne Bennett is remaining calm as pressure mounts in South Sydney 's dismal season, saying he's become used to the heat during 40 years in the rugby league coaching furnace.
Bennett insists he has seen signs the Rabbitohs are on the right track despite a horror year of injuries and on-field results that threatens to end with the club's first wooden spoon since 2006.
Missing eight players to injury, Souths could drop to the bottom of the ladder this weekend if they lose to resurgent Penrith on Friday and Gold Coast beat Wests Tigers on Sunday.
It's been a far cry from Bennett's first stint in charge, which ended with a grand-final appearance in 2021.
The results have been enough for media coverage to begin questioning veteran mentor Bennett.
'I've spent 40 years under pressure, mate. I don't feel it. It doesn't worry me,' he said.
It's not all doom and gloom from where Bennett is standing, though the coach felt it was inevitable lifting the Rabbitohs up the ladder would take time.
'You can't click your fingers and think it's all going to work tomorrow for you. You've got to stay true to it and you've got to get the players to buy into it. I believe that's happening,' he said.
'I know we're doing the right things and I know we're on the right track. But we're not where the top teams are.'
Bennett said Souths' attitude and their attack had impressed him.
'They've been pretty brave, there's pretty good morale in the place still. We've had no crisis meetings, which I'm very pleased about,' he said sardonically.
'Their ball control has improved a great deal, there's a lot of energy in their games.'
Souths received some rare good news this week with mid-season recruit Brandon Smith likely to miss only two or three more weeks with what had been feared a long-term knee issue.
Veteran playmaker Cody Walker, meanwhile, is four to six weeks away after tearing a calf muscle during his rehabilitation for a hamstring injury.
Campbell Graham, Cameron Murray, Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston and Jamie Humphreys are among other key men to have been sidelined in a diabolical season of injuries.
Of the top-30 squad, only Jai Arrow and Keaon Koloamatangi have featured in every game but Bennett shrugged at suggestions Souths may need to review their strength and conditioning or training practices.
'A lot of them have been on the field, they haven't been training injuries,' he said.
'Cody's is coming on a rehab run which he's got to do to get himself back from the hamstring injury and he tears a calf muscle. You can't blame anybody for that.'
Friday's clash with Penrith will mark only the fourth NRL game for Englishman Lewis Dodd, recruited on big money to become the Rabbitohs' new halfback but largely overlooked by Bennett this season.
The coach wants to see some physicality from Dodd when he comes on from the bench for his first NRL game since round nine.
'(He needs to) put his body on the line, he's a small guy and a lot of big players out there playing against him,' he said.
'You've got to be committed to stopping them and taking them on with the ball. If he does that, I'll be pleased with him.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Funny couple of weeks': Luke Garner declares he'll be at the Panthers next year after reports he could have been granted early release
‘Funny couple of weeks': Luke Garner declares he'll be at the Panthers next year after reports he could have been granted early release

News.com.au

timean hour ago

  • News.com.au

‘Funny couple of weeks': Luke Garner declares he'll be at the Panthers next year after reports he could have been granted early release

Edge forward Luke Garner says he 'didn't enjoy' the past few weeks of uncertainty as he weighed up a potential early release from his Panthers deal, but he's glad it's all sorted now with confirmation he'll be at Penrith in 2026. Garner still has a year to run on his current deal but was given permission by the club to see if he could land a long-term contract at another team. Several Sydney clubs were reportedly interested in his services, but the two-time premiership winner will stay at the Panthers in 2026. 'My understanding is he is staying, which is great,' coach Ivan Cleary said last week. 'We always wanted him to stay. It was one of the situations where if he can have a look and extend you maybe think about it. 'But we're really happy, he is playing great footy and looking forward to the future with him. 'He has been really good for us, which we've needed.' Garner arrived at the Panthers in 2023 after claiming the wooden spoon with the Wests Tigers the previous year, with the versatile back-rower winning back-to-back titles coming off the bench in his two seasons with the mountain men. He's been handy coming off the bench but has also been strong whenever he's started in the back row or in the centres, with Garner just glad the situation has sorted itself out on the eve of the finals. 'It's been an interesting and funny past couple of weeks. It's something I'm not used to and I don't really enjoy,' he told the NewsWire following Penrith's big win over his former team on the weekend. 'I'll be at Penrith next year. 'I was looking elsewhere and the club was gracious enough to allow me to do that. But a big part of me didn't want to leave, and I won't be. I'll be here again next year.' Garner has started the past five matches in the back row and Cleary now has a tough choice to make with rep star Liam Martin returning from injury via the bench against the Tigers. Martin will start on the right edge going forward, with Garner and Scott Sorensen to fight it out for the other starting spot. 'I really enjoy my footy here, I love this club and I love the way that we've been playing,' Garner said. 'I just enjoy everyone's company and I can't just see myself leaving quite yet. I'm stoked to be here again. 'Ivan and I never spoke about it. He's a cool and calm dude, so it never came up. We had a little interaction the other day when it came out that I was staying, and he just let me know that he was happy that I was staying, and I said the same thing. 'He's an unreal coach and I love being coached by him.'

Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve
Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve

Sydney Morning Herald

time7 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve

The Warriors are without form halfback Luke Metcalf after he suffered an ACL injury. He's out until mid-2026, and his absence showed in a poor loss to the lowly Titans at home on Saturday. Penrith are coming for their spot in the four. Metcalf's loss was a bitter blow as the Warriors looked like being real contenders this season after teasing everybody with a preliminary final appearance in 2023. They last made the grand final in 2011. The Bulldogs are top-two bound but have taken the ultimate gamble with the mid-season signing of teenager Lachie Galvin, who has been tasked with steering them to the premiership after unseating Toby Sexton as halfback. As good as he may be now, or one day, that is a massive ask of an inexperienced, 19-year-old No.7. It appears the Bulldogs think this year it might be all coming up a bit early for them, and with Galvin they are investing in sustained success in future years. The thing about future years is that there are no certainties. Brisbane had the 2023 grand final won until Nathan Cleary's quarter-hour of magic gave Penrith another title. Fast-forward a year and the Broncos missed the finals, and Kevin Walters was gone. Parramatta made the grand final in 2022. Poor results since then meant coach Brad Arthur was axed midway through season 2024. And here's a list of players from their 17 that night – less than three years ago – who have departed: Clint Gutherson; Maika Sivo; Waqa Blake; Reagan Campbell-Gillard; Reed Mahoney; Shaun Lane; Isaiah Papali'i; Marate Niukore; Ryan Matterson; Nathan Brown; Jake Arthur and Oregon Kaufusi. Add Dylan Brown, who is leaving at the end of the season and is currently being left out of the side. They are now light years from the finals, let alone a grand final or a premiership. Some windows of opportunity are tiny. Minuscule even. History is littered with teams which made the grand final only to fall away over following years. Premierships are hard to win, and when you have even the slightest sniff, you have to take it – right here, right now. Just below the top four is where the real danger lurks for Canberra. That's where you find the resurgent Panthers, just three premiership points adrift of the Warriors and with their old guard of Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards and Brian To'o fit and in form. Look out. They've won seven games straight. Their premiership window has been open so long now it seems like an endless summer. The Broncos are two wins behind fourth, but Friday night's loss to the Eels exposed them. Loading Their secret in a five-match winning streak before Friday was the re-emergence of Reece Walsh, who resembled his 2023-like self after a woeful start to the year in which he averaged about 70 run metres a match over the first half-dozen rounds and routinely sent passes flying over the sideline or into the dirt. Against Parramatta, that early season Walsh made an unwelcome return, complete with passes over the sideline and the sideways running. He let a bomb bounce and conceded a try. There was one flash of brilliance for a Billy Walters try, but a team can't win a title when their fullback is headless. What coach Ricky Stuart and the front office led by Don Furner have done at Canberra is to be admired.

Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve
Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve

The Age

time7 hours ago

  • The Age

Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve

The Warriors are without form halfback Luke Metcalf after he suffered an ACL injury. He's out until mid-2026, and his absence showed in a poor loss to the lowly Titans at home on Saturday. Penrith are coming for their spot in the four. Metcalf's loss was a bitter blow as the Warriors looked like being real contenders this season after teasing everybody with a preliminary final appearance in 2023. They last made the grand final in 2011. The Bulldogs are top-two bound but have taken the ultimate gamble with the mid-season signing of teenager Lachie Galvin, who has been tasked with steering them to the premiership after unseating Toby Sexton as halfback. As good as he may be now, or one day, that is a massive ask of an inexperienced, 19-year-old No.7. It appears the Bulldogs think this year it might be all coming up a bit early for them, and with Galvin they are investing in sustained success in future years. The thing about future years is that there are no certainties. Brisbane had the 2023 grand final won until Nathan Cleary's quarter-hour of magic gave Penrith another title. Fast-forward a year and the Broncos missed the finals, and Kevin Walters was gone. Parramatta made the grand final in 2022. Poor results since then meant coach Brad Arthur was axed midway through season 2024. And here's a list of players from their 17 that night – less than three years ago – who have departed: Clint Gutherson; Maika Sivo; Waqa Blake; Reagan Campbell-Gillard; Reed Mahoney; Shaun Lane; Isaiah Papali'i; Marate Niukore; Ryan Matterson; Nathan Brown; Jake Arthur and Oregon Kaufusi. Add Dylan Brown, who is leaving at the end of the season and is currently being left out of the side. They are now light years from the finals, let alone a grand final or a premiership. Some windows of opportunity are tiny. Minuscule even. History is littered with teams which made the grand final only to fall away over following years. Premierships are hard to win, and when you have even the slightest sniff, you have to take it – right here, right now. Just below the top four is where the real danger lurks for Canberra. That's where you find the resurgent Panthers, just three premiership points adrift of the Warriors and with their old guard of Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards and Brian To'o fit and in form. Look out. They've won seven games straight. Their premiership window has been open so long now it seems like an endless summer. The Broncos are two wins behind fourth, but Friday night's loss to the Eels exposed them. Loading Their secret in a five-match winning streak before Friday was the re-emergence of Reece Walsh, who resembled his 2023-like self after a woeful start to the year in which he averaged about 70 run metres a match over the first half-dozen rounds and routinely sent passes flying over the sideline or into the dirt. Against Parramatta, that early season Walsh made an unwelcome return, complete with passes over the sideline and the sideways running. He let a bomb bounce and conceded a try. There was one flash of brilliance for a Billy Walters try, but a team can't win a title when their fullback is headless. What coach Ricky Stuart and the front office led by Don Furner have done at Canberra is to be admired.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store