You don't become the NRL's greatest coach ever by accident, and Wayne Bennett's secret to success across his career has been building and maintaining a culture of excellence.
As Bennett prepares to make his return to the Rabbitohs after two seasons with the Dolphins, he has begun to re-implement this culture in South Sydney.
After a dismal season for the Rabbitohs that saw them come one win shy of claiming the wooden spoon, the legendary coach will have his work cut out for him, and he has reportedly pulled no punches in communicating this to the current regime.
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It didn't take long for Bennett to try and implement his hard-nosed style back into the Rabbitohs, as he reportedly delivered a brutal spray to the team during a meeting last Wednesday.
According to the Daily Telegraph, one Rabbitohs source said that Bennett "didn’t f..k around... that’s how Wayne operates."
Another said that "Wayne certainly spoke to the players. He was very direct. Has Wayne ever been less than direct?"
During Bennett's first tenure with the Rabbitohs, the team finished third in 2019, sixth in 2020, and third in 2021, including two preliminary finals and a grand finals berth in 2021, defeated in the first of three Penrith premierships.
Since his departure, the team has played finals football just once, making the prelim in 2022 after a seventh place finish, before ending last year in ninth, and this season in sixteenth, the only team worse than them being the Wests Tigers.
Bennett will return to South Sydney in 2025 on a three year deal, where he will be hoping to return the club to the heights they achieved during his last spell with the Bunnies.
