Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett has suggested recent talk he has lost his aura is all part of a Sydney vendetta against him.

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For the record, it was former Broncos prop Greg Dowling - speaking to Brisbane newspaper The Courier Mail – who declared both the 67-year-old super coach and his Broncos had lost their aura.

There was also speculation the seven-time premiership-winning coach no longer has the support of the Broncos dressing room in the build up to Thursday’s 26-18 victory over reigning NRL premiers Cronulla.

But Bennett laid the blame squarely on his old foes in the Sydney media when asked about the recent criticism after the impressive win over the Sharks at Southern Cross Group Stadium.

“I’ve always let my teams do my talking for me,” Bennett quipped.

Pressed on whether his men delivered for him in the season opener, he added:

“Write what you want to write … they were good here tonight.

“As I said yesterday, white smoke has been coming out of Sydney full-time for about a month now, so it is what it is.”

Meanwhile, Bennett praised his players’ for a ‘total team effort’ against a Sharks side that made the visitors work hard for the two competition points.

“Cronulla played like a premiership team and they had a lot of confidence about themselves," Bennett said.

"That's what a premiership does and they didn't think they were beaten at any stage of the game and we had to overcome those things.

"I was pleased we scrapped it out.”