Enemy sighting within Dragons camp
Judging by appearances, St George Illawarra have a long way to go if they're to win over Mr Bennett.
Not new coach Wayne Bennett, but his son Justin.
Bennett's mentally disabled son gatecrashed Dragons training at WIN Jubilee Stadium on Friday dressed head to toe in South Sydney Rabbitohs gear.
It is a stunt Justin has performed for years in Brisbane and he has now brought the act to Sydney with his father.
Providing a lighter side to the team's final run, Justin interrupted the session as he ran in front of his intense father wearing the cardinal red and myrtle green of Saturday's Charity Shield opponents.
Dragons winger Jason Nightingale said the players had been warned about Justin's antics and expect plenty more sightings of the `enemy' at training throughout the NRL season.
"Wayne's told us about that, Justin likes to dress up in the other team's colours just to give his dad a bit of stick," said Nightingale.
"It's all in good fun. I'm sure he does it to get under Wayne's collar.
"He said he's always hated the Broncos, I hope he likes the Dragons a bit more."
Justin's playful antics are one of the many things master coach Bennett has brought to the Dragons in 2009.
While Bennett might come across as an intense person in the public eye, the players speak highly of the coach's humour and wit when dealing with those closest to him.
New recruit Jeremy Smith, who spent the past five years under Craig Bellamy at Melbourne, said Bennett had a lighter side to him and was less intense than his previous coach at the Storm.
"There's a lot of similarities, Bellyache (Bellamy) is a bit more intense," he said.
"I'm sure Benny was like that in the early stages of his coaching career but there's a lot of similarities between Bellyache and Benny.
"The way they put things to players and come across to you, they have an aura about them."
Dragons fans will be hoping Bennett's aura continues to provide success as they face South Sydney in Saturday's Charity Shield at ANZ Stadium.
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