Benji Marshall #70

[jadtiger]

Benji has been on of my favourite Tigers players of all time and deservedly so.He is among the ranks of Beetson Barnes Corowa Pearce Sironen Elias Jack Brasher Farah just to name a few.I wish him luck for the future as he should at least get a commentators position.To be honest if he does play on i hope it is in the ESL as his skills would not be as blunted over there and his weak defence not as exposed due to the age factor

 

[Tim Sheens]

Yeah, enjoyed what he brought to not only WT, but the game as a whole. Sadly, he lost most of me the day he wore other colours whilst still with us, even if another code's, though was happy for him to find a good year at the dragons and to finish up as a backup hooker at the donkeys. For mine it was a mistake to bring him back in 2018 and has been a hindrance in the club moving forward, similarly with Farah and we are still paying a price for the decisions on both this season.

 

[cochise]

I remember at the 03 World Sevens hearing about a kid named Ben Marshall. Didn’t create too much fanfare. Wasn’t till about midway through that season there started to be rumblings about a young Kiwi kid coming through our system who was something special. After the horror’s of those first few seasons, the wasted money, off field scandal after off field scandal, out of all that manure out he popped from the ground. It gave the supporters such a buzz that we actually had something special on our hands. We’d been a joke of a club since inception and now we had a kid who gave us credibility and gave us something that 15 other clubs were envious of us for. Looking back, it was a great time. It was like knowing there was a massive storm rolling in and knowing the thunder clap was going to be a game changer.

I’ll never forget the try he set up at Shark Park in 05, stepping 3 players, drawing the fullback and throwing a no look pass to set up the try. Probably my all time favourite try. We were really spoiled watching him do some of the stuff he did. The pass around his back to put Ayshford in the corner against Parra at the SFS in 2009 was another one of his moments of genius.

I’ve had a real love hate relationship over the years. He was dead to me when he left, his ego was out of control at that point. I think his time away humbled him a lot and he had grown up, and he came back to the club as a man. I’m grateful to have had the chance to watch him again these last 3 years, and I’m really going to try and savour this last month, as I think we all should. He’s the last surviving member of the 05 side. That in itself is something big, cos when he’s gone, it will be the end of an era. I personally don’t care about wins or losses or his form over the next few weeks, I just want to enjoy him running around in the jersey while I can.

Well said mate, your post had me tearing up. Its will be sad day knowing we will never see that Benji magic again.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

i wish the last game roubd 20 could have been at Leichardt with benji and Lawrence lap of honour

 

[jadtiger]

i wish the last game roubd 20 could have been at Leichardt with benji and Lawrence lap of honour

Yes they both deserve that honour even with the crowd restrictions in place

 

[Geo]

I think Benji's influence on Rugby League in general can't be understated..One of the few who you can say bought crowds to watch him in particular play..

Every Kid wanted to step like Benji..

 

[Tiger5150]

I went through all this in 1990 with Wayne Pearce, still my all-time favourite player.

Losing '88 and '89 grand finals, then his farewell match at LO, couldn't even muster up a win over Parramatta. I didn't throw the crepe paper they handed out, I kept it as a souvenir. It faded dramatically on my windowsill over the decades I held onto it. Poor bloke could barely even walk for the weight of the black and gold paper streamers the adoring crowd threw over him. Crying his eyes out.

Two weeks later we are shut-out by Manly in the semi-final and that's it for the Wayne Pearce career. Decorated with representative honours but no club-level success, about as un-fairytale as you could imagine for such a respectable footballer.

So at least Benji has 2005 and they can't take it away from him. No fan is ever going to think badly of Benji, he's a legend. In fact with time I think his legacy will become ever more storied, the flick passes more audacious, the step more gravity-defying.

But in true Tigers style, no fairytale ending.

I remember Juniors last game at LO, I was there. It was also Kevin Hardwicks last game and its kind of fitting that he finished his last game at LO carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital.

 

[JC99]

I hope round 20 is at Campbelltown. Haven’t had crowds there all year and would be a good send off for Rowdy in particular as well as Benji

 

[TillLindemann]

The more I think about it it really is the end of an era. Quite likely I wouldn't be on this forum right now if it wasn't for Benji.

As a kid I was a Magpies fan and loved the footy, but as I got a bit older I really lost interest, especially with all the super league war stuff. I didn't pay much attention to the newly merged wests tigers, they were barely on my radar. But 05, of which Benji was such a big part, was really magical. By then I was a young man a few years out of school, but I completely fell back in love with footy and with the Wests Tigers. If I had been sorry to see Wests merge a few years earlier, I no longer cared at all, this merged club was my club and I loved them.

The 'fairytale' thing gets trotted out all the time, especially at grand final time, but 05 really seemed like that to me, and the fact that it was done with such exciting to watch football made it all the better.

I know we all crave consistent success, but if I was a Melbourne fan or a Roosters fan I just cannot see myself being as captivated by a season or a grand final as I was as a Wests Tigers fan in 2005. Same goes for Benji as a player individually. Someone like Cameron Smith is an outstanding player clearly, but I just can't see him exciting people in the way that Benji has, even if he was maddeningly frustrating at times.

Thanks for the memories Benji, and all the best for the future.

 

[rah53]

I thank Benji for his time. There were some very exciting games, but also quite a few mind numbing games.

I'll be honest. I think this is better for the future as we need to move on. If you look at this year, with Marshall in the team, our points for/against is -66 & that's with the 48-0 Broncos game. But without him, it's +21 over 4 games. And those 4 games include the Raiders with Josh Hodson & a full strength Panthers. But people don't see that.

Others can disagree with me all they want. But the numbers don't lie.

 

[tigerbill]

Great post. I had the chance to watch his glory days and even in his late career he could surprise and that alone made the matches worth watching. WHo do we watch now?

 

[Harvey]

Never had more excitement than watching Benji step and swerve, run an angle, put the defence in 2 minds and then throw a beautiful cut out pass to someone unmarked.

Sure, that unmarked person was me, and I was sitting in the 3rd row of the crowd, but .....

 

[hsvjones]

I thank Benji for his time. There were some very exciting games, but also quite a few mind numbing games.

I'll be honest. I think this is better for the future as we need to move on. If you look at this year, with Marshall in the team, our points for/against is -66 & that's with the 48-0 Broncos game. But without him, it's +21 over 4 games. And those 4 games include the Raiders with Josh Hodson & a full strength Panthers. But people don't see that.

Others can disagree with me all they want. But the numbers don't lie.

Spot on mate.. Him been there in the defensive line just puts unwanted pressure on the guys next to him and that then creates doubt.. Clearly other teams just focus on this and it shows in the stats. I'd be very surprised if he is picked up by another team and if he does it wont be starting unless serious injuries (backup only). I really think he will regret not retiring with us now and getting the well deserved send off he deserves but hey it's his choice and happy we made the correct call now. .

 

[rah53]

I thank Benji for his time. There were some very exciting games, but also quite a few mind numbing games.

I'll be honest. I think this is better for the future as we need to move on. If you look at this year, with Marshall in the team, our points for/against is -66 & that's with the 48-0 Broncos game. But without him, it's +21 over 4 games. And those 4 games include the Raiders with Josh Hodson & a full strength Panthers. But people don't see that.

Others can disagree with me all they want. But the numbers don't lie.

Spot on mate.. Him been there in the defensive line just puts unwanted pressure on the guys next to him and that then creates doubt.. Clearly other teams just focus on this and it shows in the stats. I'd be very surprised if he is picked up by another team and if he does it wont be starting unless serious injuries (backup only). I really think he will regret not retiring with us now and getting the well deserved send off he deserves but hey it's his choice and happy we made the correct call now. .

We initially re-signed him a couple of years ago to be a back up, and an injured Josh Reynolds put him in the side to the point Reynolds was fighting him to get back in.

 

[mike]

Again I’ll state that I love Benji and will always be grateful for all the excitement he has provided and he is a true Wests Tigers legend but... and it’s a big but he has seriously lost the plot.

If Benji truely has the best interest of the club at heart he should of just shut up and said nothing. But he couldn’t, it had to be about how he was treated. It’s all about Benji and I’m afraid to say I for one am glad your time playing for the club has come to an end. It’s no longer about what is best for Benji but what is best for the Wests Tigers and that is a Wests Tigers without Benji playing there.

 

[jrtiger]

I was a six year old kid at Campbelltown on the hill in 2004 when I watched Benji Marshall toy with the Canberra defence. I asked my dad who on earth that was, and the love affair began.

like every other kid, I wanted to be Benji Marshall. The x-blade boots, the step, the flick pass, the goofy walking style, all of it. he was as much an aesthetic or an image as he was a player, the pied piper with the bag of tricks dragging every junior footballer and tigers tragic along for the ride. seeing him in '06-'08 was almost a luxury, because he was barely on the field with shoulder and knee issues, but when he got out there he was something to behold. there's some moments of brilliance in that time that go unnoticed. the game where he was on leg and made a break and literally hobbled around the Newcastle fullback was one. another was probably the greatest no try you'll ever see (jog on fergo) when he chipped chased and flicked passed to Dean Collins in the final round of 2008 on the Gold Coast.

Benji had plenty of moments he would've wished he could have over again (the final 10 minutes in the preliminary final of 2010, the semi final in 2011), but no one can ever take 2005 away from him. simply phenomenal. everybody remembers the flick pass and the try against Cronulla, but what about the try saver against Brisbane in the semi? what about picking the ball up from the back of the scrum, skipping around two defenders and putting Hodgson through a gaping hole when we thrashed the cowboys. insane. he was searching for Scott Prince for the rest of his days after it, we saw flashes with Lui and Brooks came too late, but it was almost as if it was only meant to happen once.

as GNR said, he left this club and came home a man. he had been given a reality check a few times to harden his resolve and change his nature. while we weren't able to give him a semi final berth, the fact that he's here is a miracle in itself, and despite the fact that I truly believe it is time to go, it's fitting that he was able to come back here after all those years, and see it through.

thanks Benj, I love you mate. we'll never forget you.

 

[Cobarcats]

If only Brooksy had the slight of hand and confidence that Marshal has. I like to see weststigers keep Marshall on as an assistant coach of the halves. As far as retiring, Benji is missing tackles now which can't be good....for the team and his reputation

 

[supercoach]

Best thing about Benji he was not a robot like so many other players today. You never ever knew what he was going to deliver, it could be the dumbest play ever to a play the Joey Johns could not dream to deliver.

At the end of the day his highlight reel was probably the best watch of any player in the past 20 years. Anyway if he had turned up at Bondi as a kid and not Concord who knows what he would have achieved. Of course one last thing, how tuff was he to come back from something like five shoulder reconstructions. Will miss him but most certainly time to move on