Master coach Wayne Bennett was there at the beginning of Cyclone Wendell and had to be there for the end of the storm. The ultimate show of respect for Wendell Sailor came with Bennett breaking from holidays to sit next to "the skinny dark kid from Sarina" as Sailor called it quits on his terms after 17 years in rugby league. "I know as a coach Wendell has made the right decision. He feels good and comfortable with his decision and he will leave the game as all champions should - on top," Bennett said.
Timing right for Sailor's new journey"We will miss him - the game will miss him - but the good news is he won't be lost to the club or the game.'' The day trip from Brisbane to Sydney said enough about the relationship between the coach and Sailor but the usually media-shy Bennett spent an hour talking about the player he thought couldn't make it as a teenager. It was the coach rather than Sailor who said "I was getting a bit teary there towards the end". Bennett admitted he had once hoped Sailor wouldn't return from a week's scholarship stay in Wollongong with the Steelers but the 17-year-old had a dream of playing with the Broncos and Leg 1Bennett was convinced by club staff to take him on. They were destined to finish their time together in Wollongong with a joint-venture club that didn't exist when they began their time together. "No other player has challenged me as much as Wendell because of (his) personality, but I have loved the challenge and like everyone else, enjoy being in his company," Bennett said. "It has afforded me the opportunity to have a wonderful insight into the life of a pretty extraordinary person. "He talked it up when he was 17 when I first met him and he has continued to talk up a cyclone ever since." Bennett was there when the wheels fell off for Sailor in 2006 during his stint in rugby union.He stood by his man and the pair linked again for a final season in rugby league in 2009, which finished with a minor premiership. It was Bennett who encouraged the disgraced star to return to rugby league and it was in his final two years the character of Sailor shone."To his credit, through his efforts, remorse and candour he won back the respect of the nation and his personality both on and off the field has been just the tonic that the game of rugby league needed,'' Bennett said."For all the talk and antics, Wendell is an absolute professional.''
