After his 900th match, Wayne Bennett was in his usual mood at the press conference after a dominant victory for his Dolphins.
Debutant and new Dolphins cult hero, Valynce Te Whare, scored a double in the 36-16 win over Cronulla, but Bennett wasn’t giving too much away on the 22-year-old.
“He can be better, got a lot of improvement in him but it wasn’t a bad start for someone having his first NRL game,” he said.
FOLLOW LIVE: NRL Magic Round Saturday blog
READ MORE: New Zealand Magic Round ‘a consideration’
READ MORE: Stuart explains controversial guest’s appearance
Te Whare’s first try came about after he ran over the top of three Sharks defenders, which drew comparisons to rugby league Immortal Mal Meninga in commentary.
However, Bennett was more focused on the debutant’s ability outside of ball-running.
“It’s when he hasn’t got the ball that worries me,” he said.
Te Whare’s journey to the NRL is one that’s brought about many admirers, after he moved from New Zealand and converted from rugby union.
The centre was emotional post-game, telling Fox League he had “nothing at home” before making the switch.
Debutant’s special haka after debut
After winning QRL Cup centre of the year last season for Redcliffe Dolphins, Te Whare was always going to be knocking on the door for selection in the newly founded club’s top squad.
However, Bennett had a hilarious response when asked why he gave the youngster a debut.
Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on 9Now
“Because I had a bad night sleep and made a decision,” he smirked.
“It’s what I came up with, it was in the dream.”
Dolphins debutant’s double
After many questions over the debutant, Bennett finally relented and gave some insight his potential star, offering up a massive prediction.
“I think we’re going to find with Val is he’s a big match player, the bigger the occasion the better he’ll play,” he said.
“There’s just some players that have that type of psych and that’s part of his DNA.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The Mole’s team of the week: Blues jumper ‘awaiting’ hulking centre after hat-trick
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
