Benji axed from blues squad
- Thread starter pacman
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happy_tiger
Well-known member
Don't know why my second post was deleted but I will try again
Benji hadn't played a good game v a Top 4 side since 2011 and people get upset when he gets bagged out
He did far more harm to this club in the end that he ever did good in my opinion
Benji won't crack it anywhere in the future , he will probably end up in the ESL (or back at the Tigers )
Benji claimed Sheens was like a father figure , well a father figure should put you in your place when you are letting yourself and others down
Benji hadn't played a good game v a Top 4 side since 2011 and people get upset when he gets bagged out
He did far more harm to this club in the end that he ever did good in my opinion
Benji won't crack it anywhere in the future , he will probably end up in the ESL (or back at the Tigers )
Benji claimed Sheens was like a father figure , well a father figure should put you in your place when you are letting yourself and others down
Black_n_White
New member
Bunji ran wild, seemingly no repercussions. The greats, not only of this game but humanity, have all sought to improve, further themselves…. I pay the guy for testing himself in a new arena, I really do, but care little. If he had simply taken the time to learn the game he was already in, know when to turn it down and obviously more difficult for him, how to turn it down, and play the game, he would have easily solidified himself as an immortal. Instead, the bloke is the sideshow, the bearded lady.
TurnStyle
Well-known member
@happy tiger said:
i agree. maybe now a little time has passed people will remember all the mistakes he made in his career with the tigers at crucial times that were game effecting.
he had a period from 2010-11 (roughly) where he dramatically cut down on his errors and was a great player for the team! but sadly, out of the 10 or so seasons he was with the tigers, id say only 3 or 4 he was beneficial.
while i have nothing against him personally (from most accounts he is a great guy and i applaud his giving union a go) and have no right to judge him as a person, i do have the right to judge him as a rugby league player.
i wish him only the best in union or whatever his future holds, but at the same time am firm in my belief the club and nrl side are better off this year than the last few.
Year_of_the_Tiger
Well-known member
@turnstyle said:
I agree with most of this. We forget at the start of 2012 he was one of the best in the world with huge expectations. That year we faltered, and last year we had a team of kids. If we'd made the 8 in 2012 we will still have Benji and, dare i say, Sheens. I'm not sure what happened, but he played on confidence. 2012 and 2013 shattered that for him and the team. I wouldn't have swapped him for anyone leading into 2012\. I think losing Gareth, Gibbs and Fifita and others affected out style and he lost his room and eventually his mojo. I'm ready to move on but he was best player to ever to pull on a west tigers JV jersey to date.
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vlad
Well-known member
its only a matter of time before benji shifts to either japanese rugby or the ESL
20tigers14
New member
Would be suited to go play in the 7's rugby 4 New Zealand get to travel as well doing it
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@turnstyle said:
Or how about, now a little time has passed and the mistakes can't cost us games we remember all the good things he did in his career with the Tigers.
The wonderful things, the amazing things, the jump out of your chair and scream for joy moments that no other player was capable of giving us.
Each to their own though.
Skipping sideways and passing into the grandstand will only get you so far, he was always going to fail in yawnion.
I like Benji, but he's past his prime and trying to compete with professional yawnion players who have played the game their entire lives, he was never going to be a great success there.
I like Benji, but he's past his prime and trying to compete with professional yawnion players who have played the game their entire lives, he was never going to be a great success there.
1_4_chicken_chips
New member
What a shame people feel the need to put the boot into a weststigers legend .benjis gone ,get over it .
westTAHger
Well-known member
everyone has their own opinion on benji.
for me, I'm just glad he, contributed to wests-tigers winning a premiership. :sign:
for me, I'm just glad he, contributed to wests-tigers winning a premiership. :sign:
@1/4 chicken said:
Yes it is and whats worse is the tide is turning against Farah as well now. I predicted last year when we were all arguing that Rob would be the next target and did so in sort of a tongue in cheek way. Unfortunately it is happening for real. After a couple of trials and a lackluster 9's tournament, there have been several topics on our captain and his playing ability already.
GNR4LIFE
Well-known member
''Form is temporary'' that pretty much sums up the guy in a nutshell.
He lived off his reputation for the last couple of yrs, to put it nicely. He regressed as a footballer. While guys like Slater, Smith, Cronk and Thurston kept raising their games, he went backwards and went backwards at an alarming rate. Never seen anything like it from a player of his calibre, unless an injury was involved. Lawrence has an excuse, which is why i defend him, cos it doesn't seem to register with people why he has become the player he is. Benji had no excuse. If anything, Sheens deserves some of the blame cos he let the culture at the club develop into that of a pub team just happy to play together as a group of mates. Therefore he became comfortable and lazy.
He lived off his reputation for the last couple of yrs, to put it nicely. He regressed as a footballer. While guys like Slater, Smith, Cronk and Thurston kept raising their games, he went backwards and went backwards at an alarming rate. Never seen anything like it from a player of his calibre, unless an injury was involved. Lawrence has an excuse, which is why i defend him, cos it doesn't seem to register with people why he has become the player he is. Benji had no excuse. If anything, Sheens deserves some of the blame cos he let the culture at the club develop into that of a pub team just happy to play together as a group of mates. Therefore he became comfortable and lazy.
@GNR4LIFE said:
Spot on the money, players like JT, Slater, Inglis, Cameron Smith, Lockyer, etc. deserve the title of "class", they are consistently VERY good, sure they have the occasional bad game, but you can rely on them to perform at an incredible level 9/10 matches, where Benji was the opposite, he would have the occasional GOOD game, and perform below par 9/10 matches.
People get so precious about star players from their own clubs and have blinkers on when they talk about them, Benji is a superstar in the media's eye only.
@Zaibatsu said:
I think people are more likely to want to drag down everyone then stargaze. The bloke had class. It was clear to see he wasn't happy and it was affecting his football. We can't say the inability of the coach to get a reliable halfback partner killed him and then say he was hopeless at the same time. It's a team game and when the team has holes, rarely does the team game work.
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The thing is though mate, on so many occasions Benji WAS that "hole" in the team game you speak of…
In the last few years of his time with us, the amount of times he would jink sideways then throw a pass into the 5th row of the grandstand or flick a ridiculous pass that went straight to the opposition or botch a kick that ruined an otherwise decent set of 6 far outweighed the good things he did.
When Benji was on, he was insane, one of the best players you could have the pleasure of witnessing, but it was just too in-frequent for the club's good... It got to the point where I'd be cringing when Benji got the ball just hoping he didn't screw us over by doing something stupid...
Benji was at his best, un-surprisingly, when he had an established half-back partnering him... Unfortunately once Princey left we were never able to provide him that again which forced him to over-play his hand every match and forget what his strengths were.
If we were able to get a decent half to partner him after Prince then Benji's career may have continued to flourish, but unfortunately that didn't happen and Benji wasn't able to guide the team himself.
Benji is a prime example of wasted talent, as I said I like the bloke, I would never accuse him of not trying, he took his performances personally and at no stage would I say he wanted anything else than to do well for the Tigers, but his performances were not warranting even half the money he was on and when he wanted more then we had no option in the end.
I take no pleasure in see'ing him fail in union, but I said from the get-go he wouldn't do well there... He may still prove me wrong but I highly doubt it.
In the last few years of his time with us, the amount of times he would jink sideways then throw a pass into the 5th row of the grandstand or flick a ridiculous pass that went straight to the opposition or botch a kick that ruined an otherwise decent set of 6 far outweighed the good things he did.
When Benji was on, he was insane, one of the best players you could have the pleasure of witnessing, but it was just too in-frequent for the club's good... It got to the point where I'd be cringing when Benji got the ball just hoping he didn't screw us over by doing something stupid...
Benji was at his best, un-surprisingly, when he had an established half-back partnering him... Unfortunately once Princey left we were never able to provide him that again which forced him to over-play his hand every match and forget what his strengths were.
If we were able to get a decent half to partner him after Prince then Benji's career may have continued to flourish, but unfortunately that didn't happen and Benji wasn't able to guide the team himself.
Benji is a prime example of wasted talent, as I said I like the bloke, I would never accuse him of not trying, he took his performances personally and at no stage would I say he wanted anything else than to do well for the Tigers, but his performances were not warranting even half the money he was on and when he wanted more then we had no option in the end.
I take no pleasure in see'ing him fail in union, but I said from the get-go he wouldn't do well there... He may still prove me wrong but I highly doubt it.
clontarfkid
Well-known member
The entire Rugby "play"was a deliberate strategy by a fading star and a blinkered manager to extract a $1.5mill + payday for another 5-6 years either in the South of France,or worst case Japan.
As an NRL player,he was looking at half the tenure at half the price.Benjis injuries plus an ego unwilling to accept the reality that his strengths were as a broken field runner(one of the best the game has seen),but a very ordinary playmaker,required a dramatic gamble in Rugby to maximise his earning potential long term
A headlining role in the Auckland Blues is absolutely critical to achieving this goal.The Blues (& NZRU)have now leveraged most of his PR value,so now its a matter of adding real value to the Blues…& the coach thinks he's either 3rd or 4th in line at no 10 to do that.
Benji & Tauber decided to roll the dice with Rugby & its probably going to disappoint them.
Only way back is NRL probably...at a fraction of what we offered him.I hope its not WT who out of misaligned loyalty attempt to ressurect his career in 2015-if so,maybe we offer same deal to Ellery Hanley..?
As an NRL player,he was looking at half the tenure at half the price.Benjis injuries plus an ego unwilling to accept the reality that his strengths were as a broken field runner(one of the best the game has seen),but a very ordinary playmaker,required a dramatic gamble in Rugby to maximise his earning potential long term
A headlining role in the Auckland Blues is absolutely critical to achieving this goal.The Blues (& NZRU)have now leveraged most of his PR value,so now its a matter of adding real value to the Blues…& the coach thinks he's either 3rd or 4th in line at no 10 to do that.
Benji & Tauber decided to roll the dice with Rugby & its probably going to disappoint them.
Only way back is NRL probably...at a fraction of what we offered him.I hope its not WT who out of misaligned loyalty attempt to ressurect his career in 2015-if so,maybe we offer same deal to Ellery Hanley..?
cqtiger
Well-known member
When he announced that he was leaving It didn't upset me. I have fully appreciated the stunning moments that Benji gave us. However, I also remembered the plethora of shockingly bad plays that he came up with.
After thinking about Benji and union I came to the conclusion that he would have some more stunning moments. Sadly, he would have more and more awful moments mainly due to rugby's 5 metre rule.
I hope Benji comes back to the Tigers … But not as a player.
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After thinking about Benji and union I came to the conclusion that he would have some more stunning moments. Sadly, he would have more and more awful moments mainly due to rugby's 5 metre rule.
I hope Benji comes back to the Tigers … But not as a player.
_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
