BEFORE stepping out in public for the first time in his red-and-white Dragons gear yesterday morning, Wayne Bennett checked to see what he looked like.

"I just had a look at myself in the mirror once, which I don't normally do, and I thought, 'Yeah, that looks OK. Let's get going,"' Bennett said after his first training session as St George Illawarra coach.

After 21 years in charge of the Broncos, the enormity of the move only really sunk in as he farewelled his family at Brisbane Airport on Sunday afternoon.

"They thought I was going on a two-week holiday without them. They said I'll be home in two weeks,"Bennett joked. "[But] reality struck me sometime in the plane yesterday afternoon, and when I went to bed last night it kind of hit home that this is my life for the next x number of years, and it's changed enormously."

What hasn't altered is his ambition and drive to win a seventh grand final, and in so doing becoming the first coach to deliver the Dragons a premiership in the 10-year history of the joint venture and as St George since 1979.

Whether Bennett can achieve that is something he would not guarantee but if anyone can, he believes - as do the Red V's army of fans - it is him.

"A lot of people don't understand what it takes to build and create teams but I do, and I know what I've got to do here. I've got no doubt about that," Bennett said. "It will be a bit of a journey, it will take us some time to get where we want to go but I'm confident that we will get there. It just won't happen overnight.

"This is an icon club, and you know that people are expecting a lot. My expectation of myself is just to do the best job that I can, and after that if we don't win premierships, I can live with that but I certainly couldn't live with myself if I didn't give it my best, and that is my priority now."

The first challenge is to work out his best side, and Bennett said there was no obvious candidate to replace Mark Gasnier in the centres, fill the fullback role or play on the wings, while the halves and hooker positions had been unsettled at the the Dragons for some time.

One thing he was sure of, however, is that St George Illawarra would boast one of the toughest forward packs in the NRL next season after signing renowned hardheads Jeremy Smith, Neville Costigan, Michael Weyman, Luke Priddis and Micky Paea to play alongside the likes of Justin Poore, Dean Young and Ben Creagh. "There's a perception that St George haven't been tough - well, I guarantee you they'll be tough next year," Bennett said of the new recruits, who also include backs Darius Boyd and Mathew Head. "That's the one thing you won't question."

Having unearthed some great players at the Broncos, Bennett said he was confident of doing the same at the Dragons.

"I just think that what I coached up there is in this team here somewhere, I've just got to find it and bring it out and encourage it and build it and have it believe in itself," he said. "I know that it is here in this club, I saw it here this morning. I can't tell you which one or which half dozen but by the time it's over they they will stand tall. We will get them there."

One player in particular Bennett is looking forward to working with is Smith, whom he coached in New Zealand's World Cup-winning team, and the Kiwis back-rower could be a candidate for the captaincy.

"He is a bit more than a football player, he brings a real attitude about everything that he does and I think he is a great buy for this club," Bennett said.

Describing his involvement in the Kiwis' success as one of the highlights of his coaching career, Bennett ruled out a return to the Australian job should Ricky Stuart quit or be sacked over his attack on World Cup final referee Ashley Klein and England referees boss Stuart Cummings in the foyer of their Brisbane hotel the morning after the final.

However, Bennett declined to say whether Stuart should resign as he did after losing the 2005 Tri-Nations final to the Kiwis.