Two-time North Bendigo premiership coach is back in charge of the Bulldogs.
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After four years away from his home club, Bennett replaced another Bulldogs' HDFNL premiership coach, Matt Dillon, at the helm at Atkins Street.
"Knowing the place pretty well and there's still a core group of senior players there, so it feels good to be back,'' Bennett said.
"It was probably a pretty easy decision, to be honest."
Bennett finished his first coaching stint with the Dogs with a 66-11 win/loss ratio.
He had one season as senior coach of Kangaroo Flat in 2019, but he believes the experience he gained as an assistant coach at BFNL club Sandhurst over the past two years has made him a better coach.
"The two seasons at Sandhurst were massive for me,'' Bennett said.
"I have a huge amount of respect for Ash Connick and the way he goes about his coaching.
"Sandhurst players were very similar to the group I had at North in the way they're driven and super professional.
"It was a great place to be around. The experienced players at Sandhurst had great buy-in and the younger players were so eager to learn. They were like sponges, they wanted to improve so much.
"What I experienced at Sandhurst I feel as though I'm a better coach than when I was at North previously.
"What I learned from my time working with Ash Connick, and from being around a club like Sandhurst, has helped me become a better coach.
"The way Ash thinks about footy, his planning and his training...it was certainly worth my while spending two years at Sandhurst."
North Bendigo finished the interrupted 2021 HDFNL season in third place on the ladder with a 9-3 record.
While minor premier Lockington-Bamawm United was the dominant side this year, Bennett was confident the Bulldogs could challenge in 2022.
"The interest was there for me because the players that have driven the club for the past eight or nine years are still there and they're hungry for more success,'' Bennett said.
"Some of the young guys were given opportunities this year and you could see the improvement there.
"We'll look to add more to certain areas of the side and look to be right up there again.
"I've reached out to this year's senior group and the response has been really good.
"Close to 85 per cent have re-committed and there's a couple that are undecided at this stage. We'll speak to them in the coming weeks to, hopefully, get them back on board.
"Once we know who we've got we can focus on who we want to add and we've got a fair idea of what sort of player we'd like to get on board.
"We're probably looking for some more midfielders to give us a bit more depth through the middle of the ground."
Read more: Bennett steps down as North Bendigo coach
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