Grand final-winning coach Graham Arnold has credited legendary rugby league counterpart Wayne Bennett with providing a defining mentoring role over the past month, saying he taught him ''how to win a grand final''.

Arnold's Mariners were superb in their 2-0 victory over the Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium on Sunday night, scoring through Patrick Zwaanswijk and Daniel McBreen.. The win was their first in a decider from four attempts in the past eight seasons.

It was another top-grade tactical performance from the Mariners' manager, who kept his team in shape from first to last whistle and made sure they stayed composed even when the Wanderers went close to grabbing a second-half equaliser.

However, Arnold said he owed a huge debt of gratitude to Bennett, who has coached seven NRL-winning premiership teams. ''I had a wonderful tutor in [then Socceroos coaches] Guus Hiddink in 2005-2006 and then Pim Verbeek, but they're overseas, and since I'm always trying to learn from the best; the best in Australia is Wayne Bennett, even though the sport is different,'' he said after the match.