Wayne James Bennett AM (born 1 January 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player.

His family had ties to the police and rugby league in South East Queensland through his uncle, 1948 Kangaroo forward Eddie Brosnan.

[12] Bennett played for Brisbane's Brothers club and under coach Paul Broughton reached the 1974 Grand Final which they lost to Fortitude Valley.

In 1987, Bennett moved interstate to join the NSWRL's Winfield Cup Premiership when he was appointed co-coach of the Canberra Raiders alongside then Australian team coach Don Furner.

By the end of the 1987 NSWRL season, he and Furner had guided the Raiders to their first Grand Final which was lost to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 18–8.

That season with the Maroons, he defeated New South Wales in a 3 nil whitewash in the State of Origin, but Bennett discontinued his representative coaching to focus on the Broncos.

Bennett's reputation for being able to make tough and even unpopular decisions was characterised by his sacking of Wally Lewis as club captain in 1990.

At the end of the season, Lewis was not made an offer large enough to retain him, with Bennett citing salary cap restrictions and the need to keep Sydney clubs away from more junior talent coming through.

During the 1994 QLDRL season, Bennett coached defending premiers Brisbane when they unsuccessfully hosted British champions Wigan for the 1994 World Club Challenge.

Bennett was appointed as Queensland coach again for the 1995 State of Origin series but pulled out of the position after players aligned with the breakaway Super League organisation (including the majority of his club team, the Brisbane Broncos) were refused selection.

In the 1997 Super League season, the Broncos dominated under Bennett, winning the 1997 World Club Championship as well as the Telstra Cup grand final in Brisbane.

Bennett won his fourth premiership with the Broncos when they took the 1998 NRL grand final, and he was also named Coach of the Year at the Queensland Sport Awards.

[21] Having won the 2000 NRL Premiership, the Broncos travelled to England to play against 2000's Super League V Champions, St Helens R.F.C.

Bennett would again coach Queensland in 2001, gaining widespread attention after his decision to recall Allan Langer to the Maroons from the Super League for the deciding third game of the 2001 State of Origin series.

In that year, he was again appointed Australian coach and took Australia to reclaim the Trans-Tasman Trophy (lost to New Zealand in 2003) and win the second Rugby League Tri-Nations Series.

At the end of the 2005 season, after five successive years without a grand final appearance, Bennett decided to have a clean-out of the coaching staff, removing such long-time allies as Gary Belcher, Glenn Lazarus and Kevin Walters.

High performance director Jeremy Hickmans, conditioner Scott Campbell and manager/assistant Paul Massey were recruited to replace the existing staff, while the playing roster had recently lost high-profile stars Mark Gasnier to retirement with Jason Ryles and Josh Morris released.

The club's player recruiting however was extensive: Jeremy Smith, Darius Boyd, Neville Costigan, Luke Priddis, Michael Weyman, Mathew Head (returned) and Mickey Paea.

[36] In round 4 of the 2009 NRL season, Bennett returned to Suncorp Stadium with the Dragons and for the first time coached against the club he helped build.

After years of having a "choker" tag[citation needed], they faced the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium in the decider at the season's end.

The Dragons went on to defeat 2010's Super League XV champions, Wigan Warriors in the 2011 World Club Challenge, but Bennett was absent, choosing to fly back to Australia days before the match to be with his ill mother-in-law, and leaving assistant coach Steve Price in charge.

[citation needed] His final game at the helm of St. George Illawarra ended the way it started, with a heartbreaking golden point loss against his old club, the Brisbane Broncos, at Suncorp Stadium.

[45] Later in 2016, rumours came about that Bennett would be selecting Australian players such as Brett and twin brother Josh Morris as well as Trent Hodkinson in his English team for the 2016 Four Nations.

Following the 2019 State of Origin series, Souths suffered a slump in form before winning their last 3 matches in a row to finish the regular season in 3rd place.

[56] On 21 February 2020, it was announced that Bennett would be leaving South Sydney as head coach at the end of the 2021 season with assistant Jason Demetriou taking his place.

The record for a winning comeback in premiership history dating to 1908 was set in 1998, when the North Queensland Cowboys went from being down 26–0 to defeating the Penrith Panthers 36–28 at full-time.

[61] On 5 May 2023, it was reported that Bennett had coached a total of 1227 games to date, and the Dolphins' round 10 clash against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Saturday 6 May at Suncorp Stadium would be his 900th premiership match.

[63] Known for his taciturn manner [64][65] and appearing outwardly unemotional,[66] Bennett has stated that he detests the media commitments required as head coach of a high-profile football team.

[69] The title refers to a quote from the American intellectual Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. regarding failure to meet one's potential.

On 7 May 2008, prominent personalities such as NRL CEO David Gallop, rugby league coach Jack Gibson, businessman Lachlan Murdoch, entrepreneur John Singleton and cricketer Steve Waugh were among the attendees at the Australian Museum in Sydney when the book was publicly launched; it went on to sell over 100,000 copies.