Sam Burgess reveals ‘gold’ Wayne Bennett calls in drive to end Warrington’s 71-year drought

Sam Burgess has leaned on mentor Wayne Bennett as he bids to end Warrington Wolves’ 71-year title drought in this weekend’s Super League Grand Final.

Bennett has won seven of the ten NRL Grand Finals he has coached in, and is a long-time friend of Burgess, owing to their time together with South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Wire boss Burgess is a Souths icon, playing a starring role in their 2014 Grand Final triumph as he scooped the Clive Churchill Medal for a man-of-the-match display despite fracturing his cheek in the first carry of the game.

Now, he will attempt to win Warrington their first-ever Super League and first league title since 1955: leading them out at Old Trafford on Saturday evening against Wakefield Trinity.

‘There was a couple of bits of gold in there. He knows what he’s doing, he’s very intelligent and he’s a great friend’

76-year-old Bennett – who was five the last time the Wolves were crowned British champions – guided Souths to a sixth-lace finish in the NRL this year before falling at the first hurdle in the finals against eventual Grand Finalists Newcastle Knights.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon at Old Trafford, Burgess revealed Bennett had rung him following Wire’s semi-final win at Leeds Rhinos last weekend, sharing: “He gave me a call.

“It was late at night, I was just about to go to bed and I thought it was best to take the call – it was Sunday night.

“We had a good 15 minutes on the phone earlier in the week. I spoke to him the week before after Souths had bowed out, and he seemed a bit more like himself.

“It was good to catch up. A great man, great experience, and not necessarily, talking too much about the game, but having the people around that you can lean on, which is important.

“With Wayne, he keeps it really simple. There was a couple of bits of gold in there. He knows what he’s doing, he’s very intelligent and he’s a great friend. I might get one more chat with him later in the week.”

‘There’s a lot of similarities (to Souths). It’s not been won here for 71 years, I’m aware of that’

When Burgess helped Souths to victory in their 2014 Grand Final against Canterbury Bulldogs, then coached by Michael Maguire, it brought their first Premiership since 1971 – a 43-year wait.

This is only Burgess’ third year as a first-grade head coach, and he said: “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t very interested in trying to break the (Warrington) drought when I first took the job.

“There’s a lot of similarities (to Souths). It’s not been won here for 71 years, I’m aware of that.

“It’s exciting, but as a player at Souths, we got to the prelims in 2012 and 2013 before we won it in 2014.

“I felt like all that drought talk, weight of expectation, was heavy.

“It’s not heavy on us, because we’re kept it that way. It’s more about this new group and creating our own history rather than being weighed down by the past.”