- Jan 25, 2014
- 44,359
- 33,590
“WHAT Wayne has done here and what he’s done in his career has been amazing.
“But Wayne left in 2008. We’re in 2014 and we’re still talking about Wayne.”
With the distinct air of a man tired of repeating himself and a look that could peel Dulux, Corey Parker fronted the Brisbane press in July 2014 and gave an impassioned defence of then under siege Broncos coach Anthony Griffin.
Parker’s response to constant rumours of Wayne Bennett’s return to Red Hill was more full-blooded hook shot than forward defensive.
But Bennett was indeed on the way back, replacing Griffin within five days of Parker’s public show of support for his axed coach.
For modern league players, adjusting to a new coach is nothing new. Though most don’t have their future in the hands of a man they have just publicly declared the club needs to move on from.
It mattered nought to Parker as he produced his best season in 15 years at Red Hill.
And you suspect even less to Bennett as he turned the Broncos from top eight also-rans into grand finalists in 12 months.
“What you read and what you heard was true at the time, I did feel that way,” Parker says of his comments the week before Bennett returned.
“But I’m just a player in an organisation in a big business and I don’t make those calls.
“As a player and captain of the club, Hook (Griffin) I believed was doing a good job.
“Now if powers above me want to change that, that’s fine. I was asked the question about Hook and I thought he was doing a fine job.
“When Wayne came into the club, that was great too. Wayne came into a club that had been left in good hands due to a lot of hard work from Hook and the assistant coaches.
“Did he have to get us onside? Not at all. Wayne’s Wayne.
“… Wayne was coming in and I’d played under Wayne for a long time. I’d won a comp under Wayne, and I was excited to have Wayne back.”
‘Wayne’s Wayne’ could be the title of the master operator’s biography. What you see is what you get with the 66-year-old and his players love him for it.
Parker is no different, and like plenty of those to play under Bennett, was in regular contact with him during his six years at the Dragons and Newcastle.
So there was neither beef nor bread to be broken when he returned to Red Hill.
Only the business of restoring Brisbane to the top of the pile, the bedrock of which was set in Bennett’s first week back at the club.
Parker and the rest of the senior playing group were taken aside along with the coaching staff and to a man they were brought onto the same page by the master operator.
Twelve months on and into the second pre-season of his second coming at Brisbane, Bennett has picked out his 2016 captain, but hasn’t told him yet.
Frontrunner Darius Boyd declared last week he wasn’t ready to lead the club, but had little doubt Parker — who co-captained the club in 2014 alongside Justin Hodges — is the man to replace the retired centre.
To this inquiry Parker offers nothing but a straight bat. He’s learnt from the best after all.
“It comes down to one man and that’s Wayne as we all know,” Parker says.
“Wayne’s been asked ‘has he got a captain’ etc. And it still amuses me that the media tries to pry things out of Wayne Bennett.
“He’s been around for an eternity and he does things how he wants to do it. The bottom line is whoever gets the captaincy of the Brisbane Broncos is going to be in the best interests of the side.
“Last year we went from where we were as a group to where we finished as a group due to the senior playing group and everyone else buying into that example.
“So there are a number of guys that can get the role and do a fine job.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...g/news-story/c4a18c8cad76f59376bad2072bcd2cf1
“But Wayne left in 2008. We’re in 2014 and we’re still talking about Wayne.”
With the distinct air of a man tired of repeating himself and a look that could peel Dulux, Corey Parker fronted the Brisbane press in July 2014 and gave an impassioned defence of then under siege Broncos coach Anthony Griffin.
Parker’s response to constant rumours of Wayne Bennett’s return to Red Hill was more full-blooded hook shot than forward defensive.
But Bennett was indeed on the way back, replacing Griffin within five days of Parker’s public show of support for his axed coach.
For modern league players, adjusting to a new coach is nothing new. Though most don’t have their future in the hands of a man they have just publicly declared the club needs to move on from.
It mattered nought to Parker as he produced his best season in 15 years at Red Hill.
And you suspect even less to Bennett as he turned the Broncos from top eight also-rans into grand finalists in 12 months.
“What you read and what you heard was true at the time, I did feel that way,” Parker says of his comments the week before Bennett returned.
“But I’m just a player in an organisation in a big business and I don’t make those calls.
“As a player and captain of the club, Hook (Griffin) I believed was doing a good job.
“Now if powers above me want to change that, that’s fine. I was asked the question about Hook and I thought he was doing a fine job.
“When Wayne came into the club, that was great too. Wayne came into a club that had been left in good hands due to a lot of hard work from Hook and the assistant coaches.
“Did he have to get us onside? Not at all. Wayne’s Wayne.
“… Wayne was coming in and I’d played under Wayne for a long time. I’d won a comp under Wayne, and I was excited to have Wayne back.”
‘Wayne’s Wayne’ could be the title of the master operator’s biography. What you see is what you get with the 66-year-old and his players love him for it.
Parker is no different, and like plenty of those to play under Bennett, was in regular contact with him during his six years at the Dragons and Newcastle.
So there was neither beef nor bread to be broken when he returned to Red Hill.
Only the business of restoring Brisbane to the top of the pile, the bedrock of which was set in Bennett’s first week back at the club.
Parker and the rest of the senior playing group were taken aside along with the coaching staff and to a man they were brought onto the same page by the master operator.
Twelve months on and into the second pre-season of his second coming at Brisbane, Bennett has picked out his 2016 captain, but hasn’t told him yet.
Frontrunner Darius Boyd declared last week he wasn’t ready to lead the club, but had little doubt Parker — who co-captained the club in 2014 alongside Justin Hodges — is the man to replace the retired centre.
To this inquiry Parker offers nothing but a straight bat. He’s learnt from the best after all.
“It comes down to one man and that’s Wayne as we all know,” Parker says.
“Wayne’s been asked ‘has he got a captain’ etc. And it still amuses me that the media tries to pry things out of Wayne Bennett.
“He’s been around for an eternity and he does things how he wants to do it. The bottom line is whoever gets the captaincy of the Brisbane Broncos is going to be in the best interests of the side.
“Last year we went from where we were as a group to where we finished as a group due to the senior playing group and everyone else buying into that example.
“So there are a number of guys that can get the role and do a fine job.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...g/news-story/c4a18c8cad76f59376bad2072bcd2cf1
