tony soprano
Well-known member
This was posted on the other thread by Tigre. Thank you. It is interesting to read and Sheens' view overall and specifically on Brooks. I'm glad it appears Brooks will be remaining and Sheens and Benji both rate him.
Tim Sheens speaks exclusively to Phil Rothfield about the Benji Marshall coaching deal
Q: Why Benji?
A: We caught up for breakfast a couple of weeks ago at Concord. A cafe called Organica. He’d made it known to Justin Pascoe that he was keen to coach at some stage. We had a long chat. He was all in and prepared to give up everything else.
Q: Some see it as a publicity stunt. A big name to take some pressure off the administration.
A: Oh please. You really think that. It’s an insult to Benji and everyone else in our organisation. He is going to work his backside off to make this work. He’s always worked hard and that’s why he’s been successful. We genuinely think that in two years time he’ll be ready and that he’s the best option. Let’s see what the critics want to say then. Just give him a chance.
Q: Does he fully understand what he’s getting into?
A: Players sometimes don’t understand. They come to training, everything has been prepared for them, they do their work and then go home. That’s their day. The coaching staff works much longer hours. It can be a 24/7 job. Now and again you sneak in a day off. I wanted Benji to know exactly what he’s walking into. We spoke about his young family. All of that.
Q: Were you surprised he wanted to coach so soon after retiring?
A: I got the impression that while he was grateful to have all the media work, he wasn’t getting the satisfaction that he really wanted out of it. He wanted to be a coach.
Q: You obviously think he’ll make it?
A: I’m very confident he’ll make the transition. He’s got a couple of years. There will be some heavy schooling. He’s very intelligent, as is Robbie Farah. They’ll work off each other. Benji has had a long career in the spine and has a great knowledge of the game.
Q: You’ve had a bit to do with a few handy coaches. You gave Craig Bellamy his first coaching job, you coached Ricky Stuart, and more recently Todd Payten.
A: Toddy was a halfback in a front-rower’s body. I haven’t made any of them great coaches. I recognised they had potential. They’ve forged their own successful careers. It’s more than just knowing the game. They were destined to be good coaches.
Your demeanour, your personality, your presence, your ability to cope with pressure, the media, the highs and lows, and the challenges of making family sacrifices. Even at home your head can be stuck in football. If you’re going well, there’s pressure to keep it going. If you’re going bad, there’s pressure to fix it. The more I discussed all this with Benji, the more excited he got.
Q: It still can be seen as a gamble.
A: Benji has that special ability to be able to communicate with all the age groups from senior players to kids in the pathway systems. He’ll understand that not everyone will be as talented as he was. His personality is really important. He’s had that infectious manner since he came in as a 17-year-old. That will help us with recruitment.
Benji is very well respected and connected among players across the game. He’s so energetic. The apprenticeship over the next couple of years will be pretty heavy but he’s up for it. He’s played under me, Wayne (Bennett) and a lot of experienced coaches who have broadened his knowledge.
Q: What about yourself? It’s a big job. You’re coaching Benji and a footy team.
A: Benji’s not a boy. He’ll be contributing as an assistant coach. He’s had 300 games. He’s not coming in as a rookie.
Q: Why are you doing it, Tim? You could have made it a lot easier for yourself and stayed on as head of football and appointed a Shane Flanagan or Paul Green.
A: We decided to go with someone with Wests Tigers DNA. I only made the decision on Thursday. I’ve thought long and hard about it.
Q: You’re 71, Tim. Where does the energy come from?
A: I’m not that old. Are we going to start talking about ages? You’re an old journo. That doesn’t mean you’re finished up. I’ve just walked 30 kilometres up Mount Victoria with Simmo (Royce Simmons). I love doing what I’m doing. I love the challenges and having experience can give you an edge. That’s the way I look at it.
Q: It’s a big commitment, Tim. The Wests Tigers isn’t an easy job.
A: You think I don’t realise that? You’re up at 6am each day and you’re normally among the last to finish. Of course it’s hard work but that’s the case in most jobs if you want success.
Q: It’s an important part of your job to shut down the constant leaks.
A: These things sort themselves out. We’re an easy shot at the moment because we’ve slid to the bottom. We’ve got to claw our way back. We start having some success and there’s nothing to leak.
Q: What message have you got for Wests Tigers fans who have had little to cheer about?
A: Our plan is to build in the next three years into the club we want to be. That’s consistently playing finals football and not just bouncing out in week one.
Over three years our good 17-year-olds will become 20, and our good 19-year-olds will become 22. We’ll be in the market for good senior players like Api Koroisau and Isaiah Papali’I. I’m not going to put a date on anything but we’ll get the football club into a strong position. Our results recently are not acceptable even for a one-off year let alone over a long period of time.
Q: Is Luke Brooks part of your long-term plan?
A: I’d like to see Brooksy stay. Under Benji’s influence it will be very interesting. In 2018 he was Dally M halfback of the year. He nearly won the whole award. You don’t just lose that talent. It’s up to us to help him find that form again. Benji has that ability to get through to people. He always has. As he’s got older he’s become a great mentor. I really think they’ll work great together.
Q: What about your front office? The board and the CEO Justin Pascoe are always copping flak.
A: I can tell you we’re in really good shape in administration and I’ve worked for a lot of organisations. We have all the resources we need and the new centre of excellence. When I came back late last year I couldn’t believe how strong we were financially.
I remember in 2005 we had a burst water pipe at training. We could hardly afford a plumber. Our physio Andrew Leeds grabbed some tools and fixed it himself. We still had weights in pounds, not kilos.
The year we won the comp we played $600,000 under the salary cap because that’s all the money we had. We still had a loan we were paying back to the NRL.
Justin and Lee (Hagipantelis) cop a lot of flak, but a lot of it’s unwarranted. The football department now is financially in great shape.
Q: Good luck. I hope you can turn it around.
A: Well, we haven’t put our cue in the rack for this year. We’ll give some more young players some opportunities. We’re out there to win every week and to improve. It’s been tough but it’s actually a really exciting time for the club.
Thanks mate I missed that one
