Queensland icons Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer have given a rare insight into what makes Wayne Bennett's half-time talks so inspirational ahead of tonight's second clash of the Origin series.
Bennett's half-time talk proved to be the tonic the Maroons needed in Game One as they overturned a 10-point deficit at the break to run out 18-10 winners in Adelaide.
The veteran coach's teams have been known for their sterling comebacks over the years, and Lewis said his ability to simplify the game helped his players.
"He doesn't beat around the bush, he just makes it as simple as possible for the players," he told Wide World of Sports' QLDER.
"That's been one of the great strengths of Bennett, he's never made things too tough for a lot of the players.
"I can remember we had a couple of front-rowers, the message that came through was, 'Catch the ball, run forward, knock the opposition over, get up fast, play the ball, and get ready to run fast and catch the ball once again, do you understand that?'. This particular person said, 'Yes', and he said, 'Well, stick to it'.
"Wayne was pretty smart with his directions to a lot of the players throughout that time because he knew that there were also plenty of players that were extremely nervous coming into what was the biggest game of their lives, and if he wanted to make it too critical what his demands were for that player, it was going to make it a little bit difficult for them."
Lockyer added that Bennett's ability to correctly judge the state of play helped him make key half-time adjustments.
"He's been good at assessing where they're at as a team and what they need to do to get a bit more luck, so to speak," he told QLDER.
"10-0 down, I think we were probably lucky and I think he would have said, 'Righto guys, we're in this game, we just have to change a few things'.
"A couple of players have said post-game that (they) were probably too lateral in the first half and they aimed to be more direct in the second half and that's what they did. They kept it simple.
"We talk about instilling belief, we've got Mal Meninga and Wayne Bennett there giving messages about situations they've been in before (and) all the players, whether they're experienced or younger, are just going to buy into that and go with (them)."
Queensland icons Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer have given a rare insight into what makes Wayne Bennett's half-time talks so inspirational ahead of tonight's second clash of the Origin series.
Bennett's half-time talk proved to be the tonic the Maroons needed in Game One as they overturned a 10-point deficit at the break to run out 18-10 winners in Adelaide.
The veteran coach's teams have been known for their sterling comebacks over the years, and Lewis said his ability to simplify the game helped his players.
"He doesn't beat around the bush, he just makes it as simple as possible for the players," he told Wide World of Sports' QLDER.
"That's been one of the great strengths of Bennett, he's never made things too tough for a lot of the players.
"I can remember we had a couple of front-rowers, the message that came through was, 'Catch the ball, run forward, knock the opposition over, get up fast, play the ball, and get ready to run fast and catch the ball once again, do you understand that?'. This particular person said, 'Yes', and he said, 'Well, stick to it'.
"Wayne was pretty smart with his directions to a lot of the players throughout that time because he knew that there were also plenty of players that were extremely nervous coming into what was the biggest game of their lives, and if he wanted to make it too critical what his demands were for that player, it was going to make it a little bit difficult for them."
Lockyer added that Bennett's ability to correctly judge the state of play helped him make key half-time adjustments.
"He's been good at assessing where they're at as a team and what they need to do to get a bit more luck, so to speak," he told QLDER.
"10-0 down, I think we were probably lucky and I think he would have said, 'Righto guys, we're in this game, we just have to change a few things'.
"A couple of players have said post-game that (they) were probably too lateral in the first half and they aimed to be more direct in the second half and that's what they did. They kept it simple.
"We talk about instilling belief, we've got Mal Meninga and Wayne Bennett there giving messages about situations they've been in before (and) all the players, whether they're experienced or younger, are just going to buy into that and go with (them)."
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