AustLit

'Wayne Bennett is the greatest rugby league coach Australia has ever had. He has won seven premierships and is the greatest man manager the game has known.

'He is a living contradiction: a self-professed introvert who can hold an audience in the palm of his hand; an autocrat on a humanitarian mission to make good men of his young charges; a devoted husband (and father of the year) who left his wife after 42 years of marriage. Other coaches decry his tactics then attempt to imitate them. Players are desperate to work with him but are left feeling deceived when he cuts them loose. The media disparages him then lavishes him with praise.

'So who is the real Wayne Bennett?

'Celebrated sports journalist Andrew Webster has been on a mission to find out. For two years, he has interviewed family, close friends, sworn enemies, colleagues, coaches and players, as well as Bennett himself, and trawled through acres of print and recordings.

'Webster shows us a complex, brilliant and difficult man. We come to admire the good wolf of Bennett's nature - the genius who transforms young unformed players into titans of the game. And the bad wolf - the wrangler who plays the dark arts of football politics with obsessive determination.

'Expertly written and compulsively readable, Webster's account of Bennett is not unlike the man himself: controversial, combative, and impossible to ignore.' (Publication summary)

'Honest, enthralling, and incredibly intimate, the autobiography of Cameron Smith is a revealing insight into one of Australia's greatest ever sportsmen.

'***CAPTAIN OF THE 2020 TELSTRA NRL PREMIERSHIP WINNERS THE MELBOURNE STORM***

'Cameron Smith AM is the most decorated rugby league player of all time. The recipient of numerous Dally M and Golden Boot awards, he starred in the toughest league competition on the planet every season from his NRL debut in 2002, until his retirement following the successful 2020 premiership campaign. Captaining the Melbourne Storm to multiple premierships, Smith played in a staggering seventeen finals campaigns. An integral member of the record-breaking Queensland teams of 2006-2017, he won eleven State of Origin series. As skipper of the Australian national team for over a decade, he led the Kangaroos to two World Cups. Smith is credited with revolutionising the number nine position - and he holds the State of Origin records for most appearances and most wins, as well as the NRL records for most games, goals, points scored, wins and appearances as captain.

'This book maps his unique journey in the game: an extraordinary look into the biggest matches and biggest moments, Smith describes his career with great colour and candour, outlining what it takes to climb to the highest level in sport. Talent aside, it is Smith's intelligence and poise that set him apart, coupled with consistency, durability and longevity that are unlikely to ever be matched. Notoriously private throughout his career, The Storm Within sets the record straight. Finally, the life behind the legend - the man behind the mystery - tells his story.' (Publication summary)

'This is the story of a football champion who crammed more highs and lows into an 11-year career than just about any player of his generation Mark Gasnier sits in the corner of the dressing-room at the Sydney Football Stadium, looks at his Dragons teammates and shakes his head. Another lost finals match. Another premature exit. Another opportunity gone. They've been in this dark place before, but his time it is different. Gasnier knows its terminal. A contract dispute that has been torturing him for two years, having gouged away half his earnings, cannot be reconciled. The next morning, he boards a plane for France and is certain he will never play rugby league again.

This is the story of a football champion who crammed more highs and lows into an 11-year career than just about any player of his generation. Carrying the surname of his uncle and Immortal Reg, he had blinding pace, a shimmy, a step and an innate sense of timing. Whether it was for St George Illawarra, NSW or Australia, he could seemingly sniff out a try at will. As former NSW coach Phil Gould once remarked: "Mark Gasnier, the best centre I have seen."

Yet for a game that came to him so naturally, Gasnier's career was never so straightforward. His famous bloodlines and the notorious hoodoo that had seen the Dragons fail to win a premiership in three decades meant the weight of expectation never went away. A drunken phone call during a NSW bonding session that led to his sacking on the eve of his Origin debut, the curse of injury and the ultimate decision to walk away from the game and play rugby union for Paris glamour club Stade Francais only add to his complex journey. Those obstacles only made the finish - when he returned to the NRL to win the grand final with St George Illawarra - sweeter ... before he shocked everyone again with the early announcement of his retirement.

Throughout his career, Gasnier was guarded with the media. For the first time, he candidly tells his story.' Source: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/ (Sighted 11/09/2012).