Bennett's behind this mover and shaker
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday July 31, 2009
Wendell Sailor has had a new lease of life under Dragons coach Wayne Bennett, writes Jessicca Halloran. Wayne Bennett scribbled a message on a sheet of paper after the game: "A bit less dancing and a bit more action on the field." The note came after Wendell Sailor's hand dancing and funky stretching to Taylor Swift's music in the dressing room before a match last month.Sailor's moves were designed to distract teammate Jamie Soward, who barely batted an eyelid as Dell's tomfoolery was caught by the dressing room TV cameras.If Sailor hadn't drifted across field half-an-hour later and sent a floating ball, snatched by Cowboys centre Ashley Graham, a brainsnap which ultimately culminated in a North Queensland try, perhaps Bennett wouldn't have been bothered by Dell's grooving."If you want to dance you've got to be playing well," Sailor says on reflection. "Ty Williams scored off it in my corner. It probably wasn't my better game for the season. I got caught on the TV cameras dancing, that's why he was into me."In the past we all know Dell's been in trouble for far worse. As Sailor often quips: "You do the line, you do the time." But he's served his two years as a sinner, he's now a Saint. All's dreamy in Wendell's world.Why so? It's Bennett."With an ego and a personality like mine you need someone like Wayne Bennett to control me," Sailor says.In a quieter moment Bennett has taken Sailor aside and praised not only his return to league but the respect he's earned from fans."You've come back well because people respect you," Bennett said to Sailor after a training session this year. "You've made your mistake and copped it square on the chin."It seems no footballer is loved more by the red and white masses than Sailor right now. The moon-walking winger has won the hearts of sponsors, the board and Dragons fans. He's even converted long-time detractors."Yeah, sure, they'll never forget that I made that mistake," Sailor says. "But people are willing to forgive and get on with it. My mistake was that I was just trying to be too cool for school."I love when people say, 'We didn't know if you'd be a good fit for the club but you've certainly made us eat our words'."Those who had question marks over him now wave banners for him. Dell gets his kicks when he sees their signs €“ "Highway To Dell" and "Sinner To Saint". At kick-off, the opposition supporters are usually booing him, but by the final siren?"Yeah, by the end they're playing with me," Sailor says.Like last week, when he balanced the footy in one hand and whipped his finger the way of the Warriors fans on the in-goal line. All game they'd been into him about his sizeable derriere. "Does your arse have its own postcode?" and "Your arse is bigger than Beyonce's" the Kiwis shouted.Sailor retorted: "So what if it's bootylicious". Even his kids, Tristan, 11, and Matisse, 6, when watching the horse races on TV, tell him: "Hey dad, there you are on TV, you've got a horse bum, dad". His shorts can be a problem. "Because my bum is like a horse's bum when I've got the white shorts on it looks like I've got a g-string on," Sailor says. "I was getting heckled in the corner by the Warriors fans, they were saying, 'Hey are you wearing a g-string, bro? I'm sure you've got a g-string on, bro.'"People didn't see it €“ when the play was away, I pulled my shorts down and showed them I had Speedos on. Then they cheered. When I caught that ball, I wasn't lairing up, though the boys said, 'What if you had of got hit and lost the ball?' I said: 'Well. I didn't think about that.' I don't think about things, I just do things how I feel out there."He's scored seven tries this year, and his next try celebration might bring on a new move Matisse has taught him.Sailor's hunger to entertain is kept in check by Bennett's words. They have known each other since Sailor was a skinny Sarina teenager with a big afro who trialled for the Broncos. They have a bond that has survived defection, a drug scandal and dancing. Bennett's a father figure who keeps the excitable 35-year-old in line."He doesn't pull any punches with me," Sailor says. "Even when I was younger, he said, 'your personality is either here or here'.Sailor widens his arms, demonstrating a big gap. "Wayne said, 'You need to have it in between'. He made me balance my life out pretty well."When Bennett is not satisfied with Sailor's performance the dual international certainly knows it. "So Dell you've been reading about yourself lately?" Bennett will ask.That's a line that stings Sailor particularly. "For me that does get me," Sailor says. "He knows my personality. I like to know what people are thinking and saying about me. I've heard him use it on other blokes. Sometimes if you've had a crap game, and you've got Benny Hornby and Matt Cooper there. He'll go up to Benny Hornby and say: 'Good effort.' And then he'll give you silent treatment and go on to the next person. I hate that. You just want him to say something to you."Sailor knows Bennett's coaching gets the best out of him. "When you talk about Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, they're top shelf, and Wayne, he's top shelf," Sailor says. "We have a good bond."That bond could be seen a few weeks ago outside Jubilee Oval. Sailor was one of the last to leave the ground after the victory over the Roosters and walking alongside him was Bennett. After a few steps Sailor threw his arm over Bennett's shoulder and talked rapidly to his coach for a good 100 metres down the road."We were just talking about the feeling at the club and how good it was," Sailor says. " .. when you've been at a club with a winning culture, you just know that all the signs are there. Long term, if you keep your head in check, you know there's something special brewing for this club."I think we're a pretty humble team - other than me - across the board everyone is pretty humble. People understand when I celebrate and that it's no disrespect to them. I'm just enjoying myself. If someone said you can't play for two years anywhere, it's just crap, and there's nothing like being out there in front of a big crowd."Perhaps we would have never seen this entertainer if it wasn't for Bennett. "If it wasn't for Wayne I could have easily been in jail," Sailor says. "Just with the people I was hanging out with. I could have gone on such a bad road."And on the field? "As a football player I don't think I would have played for Australia," Sailor says. "A person with an ego like mine can go a lot of ways in their life."
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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