Master coaches Bennett and Bellamy set for record 44th showdown
The last time he was asked about his record against Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett gave the question short shrift.
'I couldn't give a rat's about it,' Bennett said before his South Sydney team clashed with Bellamy's Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in round eight. 'It's the last thing on my mind.'
Two months down the track, as he and Bellamy prepare for a record-breaking 44th showdown as rival coaches at Accor Stadium on Saturday, Bennett was more inclined to offer an insight into the respect he holds for one of the few opponents to have dominated him throughout their storied careers.
Asked on Friday about where Bellamy rates among the great coaches he has encountered, Bennett replied: 'He's up there with them. His record says that. His win-loss record, his grand final appearances. He's up there with all the great coaches we've ever had.'
The previous benchmark was Bennett's 43 clashes with Tim Sheens, which was equalled in round eight when the Storm downed Souths 24-18 at AAMI Park, extending two remarkable streaks in the process.
That result left the Rabbitohs winless in the Victorian capital, a curse that dates back 26 years and now amounts to 20 successive games.
Moreover, it was Bellamy's 14th consecutive win against Bennett, whose last success against the Storm mentor was nine years ago, during his second stint at the helm of Brisbane Broncos.
Bennett has since changed clubs three times, from the Broncos to Souths to the Dolphins and back to the Rabbitohs, without coming any closer to toppling the Melbourne maestro.
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