Former Kangaroos coach Wayne Bennett has lashed out at suggestions his successor Ricky Stuart will be better at tackling player drinking problems.

Bennett, who resigned last Friday in the wake of Australia's Tri-Nations series loss to New Zealand, on Tuesday rang a Brisbane radio station to dispute claims Stuart was appointed to beat a booze culture among the Kangaroos.

Australian Rugby League chairman Colin Love said concerns about player drinking habits on the Kangaroo tour of Britain and France, as well as Stuart's younger age and disciplinary record, were factors in his appointment.

But Bennett was critical of Stuart's record with the Sydney Roosters and as coach of the NSW State of Origin side.

The teetotaller Broncos coach also bristled at the notion that Stuart would do better in curbing boozing because he drinks with the players.

"Don't tell me that Ricky Stuart or somebody else is going to do a better job because they'll go and drink with the boys and the boys will behave themselves better because they're drinking with them," he said on radio 4BC.

"Just look at the Sydney Roosters' track record over the last four or five years for some of their bad behaviour and tell me if that approach works or not.

"I'll go another step further, last year when Ricky was NSW coach they had four guys on security full-time with that team to make sure they behaved themselves.

"Well I had no-one security with me on our team to make sure our players behaved themselves."

Bennett's comments were an attack on past indiscretions by Roosters stars Chris Walker, Michael Crocker, Anthony Minichiello and Craig Wing.

However, Roosters CEO Brian Canavan refused to buy into the debate, simply stating: "In relation to the alcohol issue, our club has joined the other 14 clubs to work with the NRL on their alcohol education programs.

Roosters utility Wing, who was a late call-up to the Tri-Nations squad, backed Bennett's strong stance on alcohol, but said the players ultimately need to be responsible for their behaviour.

"If you say the reason we lost is because Bennett doesn't know how to get us to control our alcohol, that's just farcical in itself," Wing said.

"My personal stance is it is getting too much towards total control of individuals.

"They are taking responsibility away from individuals - we are being told these are the rules and if you break them you get screwed.

"In the end it's up to the players."

Bennett said Stuart would never had been appointed if he hadn't quit the Kangaroos job, partly due to a storm over his refusal to talk to reporters when he returned to Brisbane after the Tri-Nations tour.

"Ricky wanted the job when I got it two years ago and he wouldn't have got the job if I hadn't resigned the other day," Bennett said.

"So the ARL weren't out there looking for a different approach."

Bennett said drinking had been the source of an upsurge in player misbehaviour.

"Our game has never been in more disrepute in the last three years because of player behaviour," he said.

"And if coaches and journalists and officials think that we can continue to have a culture in our game of drinking to excess than they live in fairy world.

"I'm trying to change the culture, I have been for at least five years now at our club the Broncos about how to drink.

"I'm sick of the drunks and I'm sick of our game being dragged through every media outlet in the country every time some guy behaves badly.

"Every time a rugby league player behaves badly, he behaves badly because he's affected by alcohol."

Bennett said over-indulging in alcohol was a national issue and was behind the weekend race riots in Sydney.

"They were drinking since 10 o'clock in the morning," he said.

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