Aus V NZ and City v Country *SPOILERS*

[innsaneink]

I thought that too at first after seeing him with the players onfield after the match - he was 18th

 

[TIGER]

C'mon is that all you've got. He ran the ball twice, the first time (26th min) he knocked the ball on trying to field a kick from Cronk (against the run of play) but ref somehow called knock back then he stepped 3 or 4 players got tackled and lost the ball. Second run wasn't until the 56th min where he puts in a chip kick inside his own half and turns the ball over. Thats it the only two times he ran the ball in the whole game the first time he loses it and the second was a low percentage chip kick which gives the Aussies the ball in good field position. Thats the captain of NZ lands contribution to the game, supposedly the most dangerous attacking player on the field and the Kiwis most experienced half and playmaker (the other being a 19 yo kid on debut) playing against the best side in the world and that's what he comes up with.
I guarantee after all of that if he would have thrown the last pass for NZ to snatch victory his name would be in bold on the front and back page of every newspaper, it makes me sick!!!!!
He is the most overrated player in the game but no one wants to say it because he's such a pinup boy and he's involved in the media now, if only everyone could see past his infrequent flashes and realise 75% of the time he dishes up utter crap. Any more Benji fans want to come to his defence? What more excuses can you make up i think by now you must be all out.

You are the first person on this forum that sees the same game as i do.
I think the world of Marshall, where he has come from, what odds he has beaten, and how he handles himself off the field etc. I agree with absolutely everything you have pointed out regarding his recent form.
But i think one thing you are overlooking is to WHY his game is being played out in this form. You and i both have seen his freakish talents. But i believe the coaches are not getting the best results out of what he is capable of. Marshall would not be happy with his form of late also. He knows it, i can assure you.
For the millionth time, i will say it again, Marshall is NOT a playmaker but a gamebreaker. Massive difference. One controls the game by playing the percentages, the other plays the probabilities. Marshall is the latter. And no matter what Sheens does to develop his game, he can not change that. It's Benji's natural game.
And the more i think about it, if Sheens persists to build the squad around Marshall, the results will follow as his form does in the form of hot/cold and inconsistent.
The ONLY way Marshall will find consistency is by letting him play his natural game. This is where he is most comfortable.
How do we do this?
Either find a REAL halfback who can put Marshall on strings and feed him the ball when the time is right, or get him out of the halves altogether if Sheens wants to throw another 5/8th in there. It's not that hard really. Sheens has outsmarted himself by trying to re-invent the wheel.
It's no surprise the WT forward pack this year has really taken some form on now they have bolstered their size in the engine room. Simple basic football will always prevail and prove to be what consistently wins matches.

I think what you say about playmaker and gamebreaker are spot on, and i think someone with his talent should be able to be both, otherwise why is he on the field for 80 min? Should he be an impact bench player that doesn't seem to exist anymore? I thought his first 3 games this season were solid and he was starting to be the player he can be then he just lost it and now he's in limbo.
Should he wear no 17 and Sheens throw him on in the last 10 min to pull the game out of the fire, because that's what it seems he's trying to do lately. He's a spectator in the first half and he only gets involved when the game is all but over, hey come to think of it he's a bit like the team itself we only start playing well when our top 8 hopes are but gone.

 

[crouching_tiger]

Is Sheens really going to play Benji anywhere else other than the halves though?

To suit what you are saying CT, one potential, although I daresay highly unlikely Tigers backline could be assuming all players fit):

1\. Ryan
2\. Tuqiri
3\. Lawrence
4\. Benji
5\. Tuiaki
6\. Lui
7\. Lazarus/Moltzen

How would you feel about that backline?

With Moltzen gone, I feel Lui is the best option at this stage, and may very well help relieve the pressure on Benji with his passing and kicking game. Big responsibility for him, but I thought he looked in reasonabl touch prior to his injury, and he had a very good combination working with Farah in the Sharks trial.

We all know Sheens would not play Marshall anywhere out of the halves, as i've stated, he will try to continue to build the squad around Marshall. And that can only be achieved if he leaves Marshall in the halves. To take him out of the halves, he would need to weaken the squad to some extent to get the halves pairing correctly in place with most probably a defensive weakness with what he has to play with on his current roster.

With your squad line-up i feel you have too many defensive liabilities and would weaken the team too much with inexperience combined with lack of size. I can see defensive weaknesses in Ryan, Marshall, Lui, Moltzen and Lazarus. Can't hide them all in the modern day. You saw today how Wests deliberately targetted Taumata, Latu and Lazarus. 99% of the time big blokes will steamroll small blokes.

With everyone on board i would go with something with with size, drop a bit of speed for strength and look closely towards a line-up with this:

1\. Tuqiri
2\. Tuiaki
3\. Ayshford
4\. Marshall
5\. Lawrence

6\. Moltzen
7\. Lazarus

 

[tiger05]

I don't see Benji as a problem. Yes he has had a couple of quite games but for NZ he looked to me the best half on the field.

Farah is the real worry because his form has been down for a while.

They are both quality players and we need them firing.

I also think the coaching atm is a worry. Sheens for whatever reason doesn't seem to be able to mold the team together atm and especially get the most out of our top players.

 

[TIGER]

I don't see Benji as a problem. Yes he has had a couple of quite games but for NZ he looked to me the best half on the field.

Farah is the real worry because his form has been down for a while.

They are both quality players and we need them firing.

I also think the coaching atm is a worry. Sheens for whatever reason doesn't seem to be able to mold the team together atm and especially get the most out of our top players.

If he was the best half on the field you may as well give me a NZ jumper because i can put up bombs and knock the ball on very well. If you read my above post which comments on everything Benji did how can you possibly say he was the best half on the field. He should feel guilty about taking his paycheck.

 

[stryker]

Don't care about City/Country
Don't care about Origin
Don't care about Aust/NZ

Do care about injuries we had none from 2 pointless games :slight_smile:

I'm absolutely baffled by this statement….why is that? Do you even like Rugby League?