Wayne Bennett is exactly the same coach as when Gary Belcher played under him. Almost 40 years later.
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Belcher had Bennett as his mentor twice - for the one season he co-coached the Canberra Raiders to the 1987 NSWRL grand final, as well as a couple of years at Souths in the Brisbane Rugby League before that.
Now Bennett's looking for his eighth NRL premiership when South Sydney take on the Penrith Panthers at Lang Park, touch wood, on Sunday.
But Belcher was there at the start of his coaching journey and said his former mentor would've been the same in all his roles since - at the Brisbane Broncos, St George Illawarra, Newcastle and now the Rabbitohs.
Basic. Uncomplicated. Getting the best out of his players.
"I'd say he was exactly like he is now," Belcher said.
"It's very basic, it's all about just getting the best out of his players, really uncomplicated coaching, but very effective.
"The bullshit that a lot of coaches go on with, the technical stuff and the technical jargon, it's just all smoke and mirrors. His was just know you your job and get out and do it for the team."
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Belcher praised the way Bennett and Don Furner coached together in '87, where they lost the grand final to Manly.
He said the pair worked perfectly together, complementing each other's strengths.
But Bennett broke his Raiders contract after just one year to take charge of the Broncos in their first season, where he went on to win six premierships.
The Raiders brought Tim Sheens in to take over from Bennett and Furner, and he was pretty successful himself - winning three premierships during his time in Canberra, with the first coming just two years after Bennett left.
"He broke his contract so some players were pretty disgusted with him and very disappointed," Belcher said.
"He was only there for a season. I don't buy into his excuse for breaking his contract because I think that wasn't quite true.
"But he did what he did and we all got over it and moved on, and quite fortunately we got an outstanding coach in Tim Sheens to come along, and we all know how great Tim was as a coach."
Raiders foundation player Ashley Gilbert, who played in that 87 grand final, said Bennett's departure was disappointing because of the impact he had during his short time in the ACT.
He said while Furner had built the Raiders' foundations, Bennett then laid the platform for their success through the late 80s and into the 90s.
Gilbert said Bennett's strength was understanding his players by taking a keen interest in their lives, with the team built on discipline and "doing the right thing".
"Believe it or not he's got a very good sense of humour and when he's holding court he can have an audience eating out of his hand," Gilbert said.
"But in private he's got a really dry sense of humour. He's actually good fun."