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Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Darius Boyd owes 'everything' to Wayne Bennett
Barry Toohey
The Daily Telegraph
January 25, 2012 12:00AM
As Boyd put it yesterday: "I owe Wayne everything.
"I honestly don't think I'd be where I am today without him. He's been great to me from the start.
"Not just with footy but with life in general."
Even allowing for the special father/son-like bond between Bennett and Boyd, it was still a tough call for the former Broncos and Dragons Test star to make.
After deciding to leave St George Illawarra, the lure of returning to the Gold Coast life to be close to family and friends, including the grandmother who has played such a big role in his life, was very strong.
"My mum brought me up but there were a few issues there and my grandma looked after me the last few years of high school before I went to the Broncos," he said. "She's helped me with so much, along with Wayne. Aside from Bennett, she has been the biggest influence in his life.
"It's good that I have people like that in my life because I don't have too many people I can turn to, to get advice."
So what was the clincher in choosing Newcastle?
"One day it just clicked in my head that if I went back home, it wouldn't be for the right reasons," Boyd said.
"I'd basically been trying to talk myself into it.
"I'd been sort of talking it up to friends and family, trying to convince myself it would be the right move for me. But I want to get better as a player and as a person too and, in the end, I know I can do that better with Wayne here in Newcastle.
"Growing up as a kid, I was never a spectacular footy player but I think I've improved as I've got older and I still want to improve more.
"Wayne's a big part of that. He can just get the best out of his players and I still want to learn and get better and I just think I can do that under him."
To understand the bond between them, you have to go back to 2006 and look at Boyd's first season at the Broncos as an 18-year-old.
Bennett took him under his wing from the start, on and off the field.
He played him in the opening premiership game and stuck with him right through the season.
"I was only young and there were times when my form wasn't up to scratch," Boyd admitted.
"But he still stuck by me. Encouraged me. I guess he just saw something in me back then. I've never forgotten that."
Boyd won a grand final that season and a second title followed under Bennett at the Dragons in 2010.
Now he is aiming for another at his third club, the Newcastle Knights.
With the return of inspirational former Knights skipper Danny Buderus and home-grown stars Kade Snowden and Timana Tahu back in the fold alongside the likes of Boyd, Kurt Gidley and Jarrod Mullen, there is a real sense of expectation about the Knights this year.
"With Wayne here, I can understand it (the expectation)," Boyd said.
"Wherever he goes, he takes that winning culture with him, so a lot of people will be expecting a lot.
"But Wayne never promises anything - you can't in this competition.
"Things are going good. We'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...to-wayne-bennett/story-e6frexnr-1226252746100
Barry Toohey
The Daily Telegraph
January 25, 2012 12:00AM
As Boyd put it yesterday: "I owe Wayne everything.
"I honestly don't think I'd be where I am today without him. He's been great to me from the start.
"Not just with footy but with life in general."
Even allowing for the special father/son-like bond between Bennett and Boyd, it was still a tough call for the former Broncos and Dragons Test star to make.
After deciding to leave St George Illawarra, the lure of returning to the Gold Coast life to be close to family and friends, including the grandmother who has played such a big role in his life, was very strong.
"My mum brought me up but there were a few issues there and my grandma looked after me the last few years of high school before I went to the Broncos," he said. "She's helped me with so much, along with Wayne. Aside from Bennett, she has been the biggest influence in his life.
"It's good that I have people like that in my life because I don't have too many people I can turn to, to get advice."
So what was the clincher in choosing Newcastle?
"One day it just clicked in my head that if I went back home, it wouldn't be for the right reasons," Boyd said.
"I'd basically been trying to talk myself into it.
"I'd been sort of talking it up to friends and family, trying to convince myself it would be the right move for me. But I want to get better as a player and as a person too and, in the end, I know I can do that better with Wayne here in Newcastle.
"Growing up as a kid, I was never a spectacular footy player but I think I've improved as I've got older and I still want to improve more.
"Wayne's a big part of that. He can just get the best out of his players and I still want to learn and get better and I just think I can do that under him."
To understand the bond between them, you have to go back to 2006 and look at Boyd's first season at the Broncos as an 18-year-old.
Bennett took him under his wing from the start, on and off the field.
He played him in the opening premiership game and stuck with him right through the season.
"I was only young and there were times when my form wasn't up to scratch," Boyd admitted.
"But he still stuck by me. Encouraged me. I guess he just saw something in me back then. I've never forgotten that."
Boyd won a grand final that season and a second title followed under Bennett at the Dragons in 2010.
Now he is aiming for another at his third club, the Newcastle Knights.
With the return of inspirational former Knights skipper Danny Buderus and home-grown stars Kade Snowden and Timana Tahu back in the fold alongside the likes of Boyd, Kurt Gidley and Jarrod Mullen, there is a real sense of expectation about the Knights this year.
"With Wayne here, I can understand it (the expectation)," Boyd said.
"Wherever he goes, he takes that winning culture with him, so a lot of people will be expecting a lot.
"But Wayne never promises anything - you can't in this competition.
"Things are going good. We'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...to-wayne-bennett/story-e6frexnr-1226252746100
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