sport news The decade-old text message from NRL super coach Wayne Bennett that Graham ... trends now

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A thought-provoking text message from NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett could be a large reason why the Socceroos stun Argentina at the World Cup.

Bennett - who won seven premierships between 1992 and 2010 with the Broncos and Dragons - sent Graham Arnold the SMS over a decade ago after they met over a number of weeks.

The Socceroos boss kept it, before applying the wise words to his own coaching philosophies.

Then in charge of A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners in 2013, the message from Bennett was clear - 'don't play the game today, you're playing tomorrow. Keep them relaxed.'

History shows Arnold's men from Gosford won their grand final later that season, beating Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 thanks to goals from Patrick Zwaanswijk and Daniel McBreen.

Arnold then won another decider - this with Sydney FC in 2017 - before taking over as Australia's coach four and a half years ago.

Well aware he didn't have the luxury of the 'Golden Generation' to call on, Arnold focused on collective belief ahead of Qatar.