Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby league player and coach
Wayne James Bennett AM (born 1 January 1950), also known by the nickname of "Benny", is an Australian professional rugby league coach who was the head coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, and a former rugby league footballer.
He has also been head coach of Australia, in 1998 and from 2004 to 2005, assistant head coach of New Zealand in 2008, and head coach of Great Britain/England from 2016-2020.
Widely regarded as one of the sport's greatest ever coaches, he holds Australian rugby league coaching records for most grand final wins (7) and most seasons with a single club (24 with the Broncos).
As a player, Bennett was an Australian international and Queensland interstate representative winger or fullback of the 1970s. He also worked as a Queensland Police officer before becoming a coach.
As a coach, he won the Brisbane Rugby League premiership with Souths and in the 1980s earned selection as Queensland's State of Origin coach. After starting his NSWRL Premiership coaching career with the Canberra Raiders, Bennett was appointed the inaugural coach of the new Brisbane Broncos club in 1988, later winning six premierships with them. He has since coached the St. George Illawarra Dragons (with whom he won the 2010 NRL Premiership), the Newcastle Knights and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.