South Sydney's Jed Cartwright says he will be forever indebted to Wayne Bennett for helping revive his career, as the second-rower prepares to face his old coach for the first time.
Three days out from the Bunnies' blockbuster with the Dolphins, Souths players were adamant on Monday they would not get involved in mind games with the wily Bennett.
But there is a healthy respect for what the master coach did for the club and his successor in the Redfern hotseat Jason Demetriou.
The vast majority of South Sydney's squad played under Bennett in his three years at the Rabbitohs, who reached the grand final under the now-Dolphins mentor in 2021.
Cartwright is one of several players taken to Redfern by Bennett. His career had been stalling at the age of 23, with only one first-grade game to his name at Penrith by mid-2020.
"Wayne, he was massive," Cartwright said.
"He's been big for a lot of players' careers. I will be forever thankful for Wayne. He focuses on you as a person and that helps your football, big time.
Cartwright said under Bennett at South Sydney he was able to get his body right for the first time in years.
"I was coming to the end of my contract at Penrith, and both clubs came to an agreement it would be better if I came straight away," Cartwright said.
"I just had a lot of injuries. I never got a chance to play football.
"I came here and they delved deeper into my body and had me take time off football when I got here. We got to the bottom of my injuries and fixed it.
"Having that support has been the biggest factor in me playing regular first grade."
Prop Davvy Moale played only one game under Bennett when he debuted for Souths in 2021, but said time in the club's Queensland COVID-19 hub with the coach had left its mark.
"I have a massive amount of respect for him as a person and coach," Moale said. "What he taught me, I will never forget.
"It was an amazing opportunity to debut under him. He definitely helped me through the fundamentals.
"I have a good personal relationship with JD (Demetriou) now, and he has helped me improve my game every week too."
Souths players have seen first hand how Bennett has been able to get into the minds of opponents, with their former coach now working his magic in the Dolphins' unexpected run to fourth on the NRL ladder.
But they said they will not enter into any mind games with the wily 73-year-old, or tune-in to comments from him as Thursday's game approaches.
"Wayne, mind games? Never," Cartwright quipped.
"Everyone will just focus on themselves and the job at hand and leave all that stuff behind us."
