Souths coach Wayne Bennett has fired shots at the Brisbane Broncos in relation to his messy departure from Red Hill as the Rabbitohs look to embark on premiership glory.
The Bunnies secured their place in next Sunday's Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium following a 20-point victory over Manly, with Bennett now looking to lead a third club to premiership success.
Bennett ventured to Redfern ahead of the 2019 season, with the most successful coach in the game joining the competition's most successful club.
Bennett's bitter fallout and departure from Brisbane was prominent, with the super coach expressing joy to be parting ways with the Broncos in 2018.
"Weโll all get over it," Bennett said at the time. "I was happy to be sacked. Just leave it at that. I was happy"
The mastermind mentor was questioned on how Friday night's win and the journey with Souths compared to his success at Red Hill, with Bennett clipping the Broncos for how he was treated at the conclusion of his time in Queensland.
โI will say publicly that they (Broncos) undermined me in the conversations with Souths,โ Bennett said post-game.
โSo they didnโt do a little job on me they did the best possible job they could have done on me."
The 71-year-old went on to laud South Sydney's open arms, with the Grand Final berth hoping to be vindication for the club's decision to appoint the veteran manager.
โTo Southsโ credit there were some people there that had worked with me before and they were happy to bite the bullet and give me the opportunity," Bennett added.
โI owe Russell Crowe and hopefully tonight there is some repayment in what the team has done that means so much to him.
โThe last three years have been as refreshing a three years as I have had in coaching for a long time.โ
Further light was placed on Bennett's departure from the Broncos in the press conference, with the Bunnies coach slamming his former club for how he was treated in his final days at Brisbane.
โI wasnโt listening to them because I have spent a lifetime being honest with myself and if I thought I was washed up as a coach I wouldnโt coach another day because I would let too many people down," he said.
โNo one is going to determine that for me. So nothing has changed.
โI learned that as a young coach about when you should retire and when you shouldnโt retire because I worked with a coach that didnโt have the ambition anymore and the passion for it.
โBut Iโm not at that stage.โ
