Bennett has rarely looked more at home in the past six years than when he put on a Broncos shirt and stepped onto his former stomping ground on Monday. An early team meeting was followed by a press conference, where he revealed he had begun to stamp his mark within minutes.

Gone was the co-captaincy of Corey Parker and Justin Hodges. Ben Hannant was off contract and had not been re-signed. And, yes, he wanted Darius Boyd and Russell Packer in Broncos colours next season.

And the prospect of a premiership, or even a grand final or top-four finish?

Bennett was not about to utter the words that ever-demanding Broncos fans wanted to hear, saying there was much work to be done as he began fixing the club he had famously helped to build.

He met players on Monday morning to give them food for thought before their break and to lay the groundwork for pre-season training, which will include new signing Anthony Milford and, perhaps, Boyd and Packer.

"That's too far out for me to make that prediction," Bennett said when asked if the squad could be still be in action this time next year.

"One thing about the game at the moment is that your key players have to be fit at the right end of the season. I'm not worried about this time next year. I'm more worried about how we start and the next couple of months."

It was only when Bennett left the Broncos that he fully appreciated the pressure to succeed in Brisbane, whose monopoly over a huge market brings with it the demand for similar returns. He said he knew what would be expected of him as he settled back into the big chair.

"I think this is the most precious job in rugby league, coaching at the Broncos, the club itself ... and because of the expectations that go with this club," Bennett, 64, said. "I come back here with my eyes wide open and knowing that it's a challenge. It's one that I'm up for and one that I want to meet.

"The other two clubs I was at, they had their challenging moments, but I never felt under the pressure there that I always felt at the Broncos.

"I didn't realise at the time I was under that type of pressure until I left and things balanced out a bit better in my life. I'm prepared for that. It's all about expectations."

Bennett said departing coach Anthony Griffin had left the place in good order but there was a mountain of work to do over the next season-and-a-half, in which Bennett would continue to shape and mould the squad to his liking.

"Young Milford is going to be a great talent, so there's some excitement here as well. There's a lot of work to be done. Over the next 12-18 months I'll be in a better position to make decisions about players.

"Right now I've inherited a squad which I can't do a great deal about. There's enough talent there to work with, to try and get them near their best every week."

Bennett said he was yet to approach Boyd, who continues his treatment for depression, about his playing preference next season and that the fate of Packer's contract rested with the NRL. The former Kiwis Test prop remains in prison for assault.

"I'd love to see them both play here," Bennett said. "Darius is still in recovery. I haven't discussed his future with him. I've obviously talked to him but haven't discussed where he wants to play.

"Russell, we're very much in the hands of the game and also what Russell's decision is. We don't know what he wants to do, either."