2013 Super Bennie Westwood Testimonial Brochure

Trevor Hunt speaks to Head Coach TONY SMITH
Super Bennie Westwood may be a name that the fans have given him,
but it’s certainly one that Wolves Coach Tony Smith wouldn’t argue with.
But what are the qualities that
Bennie brings to the team?
“He is a player who always
wants to improve and who
has a real thirst for
knowledge to make him that
much better.” Explains Tony,
“He is totally committed, and
his biggest critic is himself.
That desire to constantly be
better is something that most
players aspire to and certainly
is one that every coach wants
to see in their players. He
always wants to know more
and his desire to be the very
best he can be, is infectious
and it impacts so positively on
the team because he does his
talking on the field.
As a coach of the opposition and England, Tony had long been
an admirer of the Wolves second row man before he took over
the reins at Warrington.
“I remember watching Bennie as a gangling young centre at
Wakefield.” Recalls Tony. “You could see he had the potential to
be something special then and that he had the frame on which
to build. He wasn’t the biggest but he blasted in way above his
weight with some terrific hits and when he took the ball up he
held nothing back.
“In fact nothing has changed in that respect. He still holds
nothing back, give it out and to be fair is prepared to take it back
with just a shrug of the shoulders. If he cops a high shot he just
gets on with his job and I think that is why so many players from
within our camp and that of the opposition admire him so much.
“I suppose you would call him scrawny when he was first at
Wakefield, but you certainly wouldn’t say that now, and it has
been fantastic to see him develop as a player and in physique
to being the big strong and powerful player he is today.”
Of course Bennie’s testimonial is a testimony to the service he
has given to the club over the past ten years, and Tony is keen
to pay tribute to that club loyalty.
“To play ten years at the top level at one club is a fantastic
achievement.” Enthuses Tony, “Years ago it used to be the
norm, but nowadays players get offered contracts elsewhere
and move on, and often they don’t even manage ten years
because of injury or loss of form. So for Bennie not only to be
at one club, but also to play at the highest level for that length
of time with that club is certainly something special and he
deserves the highest accolades for achieving that.”
“Having said all that, it is only
fair to acknowledge that
Bennie is not the best trainer
in the world – he’ll tell you that
himself – but when it comes to
game time, he leaves everything on the pitch. You wouldn’t use
words like finesse or grace to describe him, but power, raw but
channelled energy and a total focus on the job in hand would
certainly get him down to a tee.
He knocks ‘em dead with his big ‘hit-ups’ or tackles at times and
he does it so regularly that we just tend to take it for granted.
But it is a huge part of who and what Warrington Wolves are!
“To the fans he may seem a shy person at times, but in the
dressing rooms, Bennie is never afraid to have his say if he
feels it needs to be said. But at the same time he doesn’t
mind taking a rise out of himself, and if he wants to get a point
across he’ll tell the lads it is time to listen to Super Bennie
Westwood, which always gets a laugh.
“To me, Bennie is the type of player I would always look to sign.
If he had been on the market when I was at Leeds I would have
snapped him up. And when I was with England I was delighted
to have him in the squad. He’s an old school type of player who
gets on with what is needed to give the very best performance
he can for his team.
“He always wants to play, and there are a good number of times
in my spell at Warrington where he has played when he is
not 100 per cent, but which you would never deduce from his
performance.
“To me he is world class, and if he wanted to play in the NRL,
then he would walk in any side and they would be queuing up to
have him.
“I am proud to be the coach of Super Bennie
Westwood!”
SUPER BENNIE WESTWOOD TESTIMONIAL 2012 PAGE 11
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