Wayne Bennett (rugby league)

Wayne Bennett
AM
Personal information
Full nameWayne James Bennett
Born (1950-01-01) 1 January 1950
Allora, Queensland, Australia
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Playing information
PositionWing, Fullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1972–73 Huddersfield
1974–75 Past Brothers
1977 Southern Suburbs 13 2 0 0 6
Total 13 2 0 0 6
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1971–74 Brisbane 3 1 0 0 3
1971–73 Queensland 7 2 1 0 8
1971–72 Australia 2 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1977–79 Southern Suburbs 66 31 0 34 47
1980–82 Past Brothers 57 23 2 31 40
1984–85 Southern Suburbs 47 32 1 12 68
1987 Canberra Raiders 28 17 0 11 61
1988–08 Brisbane Broncos 526 335 12 179 64
2009–11 St. George Illawarra 79 51 1 27 65
2012–14 Newcastle Knights 75 34 1 40 45
2015–18 Brisbane Broncos 105 67 0 38 64
2019–21 South Sydney 77 53 0 24 69
2023–24 Dolphins 48 20 0 28 42
2025– South Sydney 26 10 0 16 38
Total 1134 673 17 440 59
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1986–88 Queensland 10 5 0 5 50
1997 Queensland (SL) 3 1 0 2 33
1998 Queensland 3 2 0 1 67
1998 Australia 2 2 0 0 100
2001–03 Queensland 9 4 1 4 44
2004–05 Australia 15 11 1 3 73
2007 New Zealand All Golds 1 1 0 0 100
2010–15 NRL All Stars 5 2 0 3 40
2016 World All Stars 1 1 0 0 100
2016–18 England 16 11 0 5 69
2019 Great Britain 4 0 0 4 0
2020 Queensland 3 2 0 1 67
Source:
As of 18 July 2025
RelativesBob Bennett (brother)
Ben Ikin (son-in-law)
Greg Veivers (brother-in-law)
Phil Veivers (brother-in-law)

Wayne James Bennett AM (born 1 January 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL and a former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time. Bennett has previously coached the Dolphins, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Brisbane Broncos, the Newcastle Knights, the St George Illawarra Dragons, the Canberra Raiders, the Queensland Maroons State of Origin team, the NRL All Stars and the Australian Kangaroos national team as well as the England and Great Britain national teams.

Widely regarded as one of the sport's greatest ever coaches, Bennett holds the Australian rugby league coaching record for the most grand final wins, winning seven premierships from ten grand final appearances in the NRL and its predecessors the Super League and New South Wales Rugby League, plus one premiership in the Brisbane Rugby League with Southern Suburbs in 1985. Bennett also holds the records for most seasons with a single club; twenty-four with the Brisbane Broncos, most games won as coach, and most games coached at over a thousand first-grade games, being recognised by the NRL in Round 10 of the 2023 season as having coached 900 games in the competition and its predecessors.

Additionally, he was a coaching adviser to the Tonga national rugby league team in 2022 and the assistant head coach of New Zealand in 2008.

As a player, Bennett was an Australian international and Queensland interstate representative fullback or wing in the 1970s. He also played at club level with the Huddersfield Giants in England. Before becoming a full-time football coach in 1976, Bennett worked as a Queensland Police officer.

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