Bennett looks to snap drought in supercoach showdown
Melissa Woods |
Wayne Bennett doesn’t “give a rat’s” about his lop-sided record against Craig Bellamy as the supercoaches prepare for an Anzac Day meeting.
South Sydney and Melbourne meet in the final match of a three-game schedule on Friday, starting with the traditional clash between the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra at Allianz Stadium.
The Warriors, who used to have an annual trans-Tasman fixture with the Storm, now host their own Anzac Day match against Newcastle, while the Storm and the Rabbitohs have the honour of closing the day.
The two veteran coaches share a bond dating back to when Bellamy was Bennett’s assistant at Brisbane.
The Storm mentor learned plenty at the Broncos before taking the helm in Melbourne in 2003.
While 75-year-old Bennett has coached 960 games with a 60.31 per cent win record, Bellamy has a success strike rate of 67.50 from 603 matches.
Bellamy has a remarkable winning record over Bennett of 32-10, with the latter not tasting victory over his rival since 2016, when he was at the Broncos.
But Bennett isn’t bothered.
“I couldn’t give a rat’s about it, it’s the last thing on my mind,” Bennett said.
Asked what he admired about Bellamy’s success, Benett said his “perseverance.”
“He spent five years with me at the Broncos when he was a young coach, and he’s gone and done some great things.
‘He’s stuck at what he believes in, and and stayed true to that and it’s been successful for him, he hasn’t changed it – why would he?”
The Rabbitohs have also struggled against the Storm, winless in Melbourne in 19 matches but Bennett believes it was a symptom of the Storm’s enduring success rather than a Souths issue.
“It’s a bit of a fortress down there, they play their best footy there and have always been a very competitive football team and had a lot of success so I put it all down to that.”
AAP
