Benji Marshall ignored weeks of NRL calls

[tigerbenji]

If the Tigers release Marshall & he is allowed to play League for another club it stinks, he should not be allowed to play for another Rugby League club until 2016 its as simple as that. I think the major problem in all this is obviously Tauber as everyone else has said, all he is interested in is his commission from his cash cow Benji, by the way i am a Benji fan not a knocker.

 

[tigersrule4life]

Our ceo said there looking at the option his not allowed to play nrl with another team unil the contract he is going to break and btw didnt he say he wont play agianst the tigers ??

 

[Sabre]

The thing that annoys me the most is we are still yet to hear anything from Benji himself. All the talking has been through his puppet manager.
Quite gutless I think.

 

[shaboogen]

The game made Benji what he is and gave him what he has.
The game - and our club, owes him nothing.

Tauber seem to think otherwise

Best thing BM could do right now is get another manager

I've been reading this forum (and the insane amount of vitriol on it) now for a while without registering because I didn't feel the need to. Today, I hit the button after reading this statement to say the following?

Are you honestly serious in saying the game / club don't owe him anything?

Yes, he's a star because of the game.
Yes, he was paid for his efforts.

Think for a second what those efforts have done in return for both the game and the club. He was an instrumental part in the club's first premiership. He was an instrumental part in a Four Nations win for his country. He was an instrumental part of a World Cup win for his country. Off the back of that and off the back of his style of play and personal stature, he has brought immeasurable amounts of marketing dollars to both the club and the game itself, culminating in his image being used as the face of the game numerous times, bringing fans and members that you can probably guarantee would never have become interested otherwise (I know this because I myself am one of those people). He has influenced thousands of juniors and been a hero and an inspiration to current, past and future players of the game as well as any number of other things that serve to raise the profile of the club, players and the code in general.

Benji Marshall has his fair share of knockers, here and elsewhere, for reasons that are entirely justified. He has an stupid amount of errors in his game, he's currently out of form and this latest episode isn't helping his relationship with those people, but to try to infer that he hasn't repaid his club and the code in spades with his efforts throughout his career is not only insulting to the guy himself, but disgraceful conduct from somebody who's apparently a fan of this team, given he's done more for it than most players ever will.

 

[happy_tiger]

Shaboogen , cuts both ways mate

The Tigers have supported Benji through 3 shoulder recos and all the BS defence he offered while coming back from those injuries

If you looked at how much we have got from Benji performance wise compared to what we paid him and compared that to players on similar money do you think we got our money's worth

Forget the off field stuff when you decide that , when it comes to the crunch if we had a player on the bucks he is on they would bring the same sponsorship because we would be winning football games which is his job

The only answer is no , he hasn't lived up to his end of the bargain

 

[mtd]

see ya benji.

 

[supercoach]

The thing that annoys me the most is we are still yet to hear anything from Benji himself. All the talking has been through his puppet manager.
Quite gutless I think.

Cash for comment!!! Benji's spin doctors will arrange a one on one exclusive, probably have Zoe and the pet dog next to him, a baby would have been better, anyway a heart wrenching three minute interview with Danny W, the odd tear and a cheque for 50 grand. The old story you keep milking the cow to it drops dead

 

[shaboogen]

Shaboogen , cuts both ways mate

The Tigers have supported Benji through 3 shoulder recos and all the BS defence he offered while coming back from those injuries

If you looked at how much we have got from Benji performance wise compared to what we paid him and compared that to players on similar money do you think we got our money's worth

Forget the off field stuff when you decide that , when it comes to the crunch if we had a player on the bucks he is on they would bring the same sponsorship because we would be winning football games which is his job

The only answer is no , he hasn't lived up to his end of the bargain

I don't agree with those statements at all.

The club stood by him through his lean times (2006 - 2009) because of the potential he showed. He then repaid them with his play in 2010 and 2011 by helping them get into the finals in both years.

We then get to 2012 and instead of people realising that the ENTIRE TEAM capitulated, people blame the entire thing on Benji and say he played terribly. Never mind the fact that they had no halfback for most of that year, never mind the fact that half the pack was shipped off to make room for what turned out to be the worst buy of the year, no, let's throw the entire weight of blame onto his shoulders, even though he came close to leading the league in try assists. I'm not going to pretend for a second he played his best football, but I reject the premise entirely that 2012 is his fault.

Same for 2013\. They blame the guy whilst forgetting the lack of halves combinations and the terrible pack that he is playing behind. All that being said, he deserves far more blame this year because he's genuinely playing far worse than he has previously.

As for the marketing point, if you think that simply winning football games brings you marketing dollars, you have no understanding of the profession. There's a reason Benji is in the top 5 most marketable players in Sydney atm, go check the polling for yourself.

I'm not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend that he's playing great and completely justifies his price tag and an upgrade atm, but I'm absolutely over the "Everything is Benji's fault" bandwagon that this forum is full of right now, spreading further now than bagging his play, but bagging the guy himself. I don't understand how people are labeling this a cash grab given that significant money was on the table and he's turning it down, arguably killing his TV career while he's at it. That argument is logically bankrupt, it's absolutely clear that something else is on his mind and whether you like or dislike whatever reason that is, he quite clearly doesn't deserve the BS he cops here on a daily basis.

 

[happy_tiger]

Shaboogen , cuts both ways mate

The Tigers have supported Benji through 3 shoulder recos and all the BS defence he offered while coming back from those injuries

If you looked at how much we have got from Benji performance wise compared to what we paid him and compared that to players on similar money do you think we got our money's worth

Forget the off field stuff when you decide that , when it comes to the crunch if we had a player on the bucks he is on they would bring the same sponsorship because we would be winning football games which is his job

The only answer is no , he hasn't lived up to his end of the bargain

I don't agree with those statements at all.
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The club stood by him through his lean times (2006 - 2009) because of the potential he showed. He then repaid them with his play in 2010 and 2011 by helping them get into the finals in both years.
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We then get to 2012 and instead of people realising that the ENTIRE TEAM capitulated, people blame the entire thing on Benji and say he played terribly. Never mind the fact that they had no halfback for most of that year, never mind the fact that half the pack was shipped off to make room for what turned out to be the worst buy of the year, no, let's throw the entire weight of blame onto his shoulders, even though he came close to leading the league in try assists. I'm not going to pretend for a second he played his best football, but I reject the premise entirely that 2012 is his fault.

Same for 2013\. They blame the guy whilst forgetting the lack of halves combinations and the terrible pack that he is playing behind. All that being said, he deserves far more blame this year because he's genuinely playing far worse than he has previously.

As for the marketing point, if you think that simply winning football games brings you marketing dollars, you have no understanding of the profession. There's a reason Benji is in the top 5 most marketable players in Sydney atm, go check the polling for yourself.

I'm not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend that he's playing great and completely justifies his price tag and an upgrade atm, but I'm absolutely over the "Everything is Benji's fault" bandwagon that this forum is full of right now, spreading further now than bagging his play, but bagging the guy himself. I don't understand how people are labeling this a cash grab given that significant money was on the table and he's turning it down, arguably killing his TV career while he's at it. That argument is logically bankrupt, it's absolutely clear that something else is on his mind and whether you like or dislike whatever reason that is, he quite clearly doesn't deserve the BS he cops here on a daily basis.

And you mention 2010 and 2011

Who kicked out on the full leading to the Soward field goal and ran the ball on the last with 3 minutes leading to the Inu try

One person , Benji Q Marshall

Experienced footballers shouldn't make dumb mistakes at clutch times in games

Benji needs the Tigers more than the Tigers need him and the future will prove that

 

[stryker]

I agree with shaboogen. Well said mate, glad to see there are still some who can look past blinding hatred. The nasty BS he has copped on here is disgusting and makes me think very few people on here have a brain in the head.

Happy, Benji is the reason our sides were competitive those years. When he first burst on the scene, the tigers were barely a park football side. They were pathetic, they were useless. We only attracted players that every other club wouldnt touch with a barge pole. We were only granted a couple of free to air games per season. Fast forward 2 years and we were every supporters second favourite side. When we played on telly with Benji in the side, ratings went through the roof. Sponsors bashed each other in the carpark for the opportunity to support us. Good players from other sides wanted to play with us. We drew big crowds and memberships. We became one of the biggest supported clubs in the game.

I am not convinced that the Wests Tigers would still be around today if Marshal hadnt played for us. We went from perrenial easy beats and the joke of the league to the most watched and exciting club in the NRL and he was at the pointy end of the reason why.

Criticise his recent play by all means. He isnt setting the world on fire, thats undisputed. Calling him a greedy, self centred, egotistical, lazy, gutless tryhard dog as more than half of this forum does makes me want to crush skulls. He deserves better. You people need to wake up to yourselves and fast.

 

[laufoofan]

Benji, as I can see, is a nice kid. Unfortunately his head is screwed on the wrong way. His timing is all wrong, when he played his worst football he expected the most pay. He is also receiving wrong advice who ever is guiding him.Now his future with the NRL has taken a dent, so is his media future. He comes out ugly in the end. Is this is what he is asking for?
All he shows is greed throughout and lost all his fans and sympathies through his behaviour.Benji, you should have given a little and you would have got a lot more in return.

 

[Cosimo_Zaretti]

So his own manager has for all intents and purposes admitted that Benji chucked a hissy fit when faced with consequences (benching).

And to give Potter his due, by having Marshall start of the bench he was throwing his struggling star a line. Everyone could see Benji didn't have a consistent 80 minutes in him, and rather than have him spend a few weeks in NSW cup, Potter sacrificed an interchange forward to let Benji play part of the souths game. He didn't have to do that. It seems to have helped as Marshall has been in better form since.

I'm surprised Tauber brought it up as a factor. Does he really think that a marquee player should be guaranteed a starting spot, despite being injured and out of form? It's not like anyone at the Tigers would have wanted to drop Marshall unless they had to.

 

[happy_tiger]

I agree with shaboogen. Well said mate, glad to see there are still some who can look past blinding hatred. The nasty BS he has copped on here is disgusting and makes me think very few people on here have a brain in the head.

Happy, Benji is the reason our sides were competitive those years. When he first burst on the scene, the tigers were barely a park football side. They were pathetic, they were useless. We only attracted players that every other club wouldnt touch with a barge pole. We were only granted a couple of free to air games per season. Fast forward 2 years and we were every supporters second favourite side. When we played on telly with Benji in the side, ratings went through the roof. Sponsors bashed each other in the carpark for the opportunity to support us. Good players from other sides wanted to play with us. We drew big crowds and memberships. We became one of the biggest supported clubs in the game.

I am not convinced that the Wests Tigers would still be around today if Marshal hadnt played for us. We went from perrenial easy beats and the joke of the league to the most watched and exciting club in the NRL and he was at the pointy end of the reason why.

Criticise his recent play by all means. He isnt setting the world on fire, thats undisputed. Calling him a greedy, self centred, egotistical, lazy, gutless tryhard dog as more than half of this forum does makes me want to crush skulls. He deserves better. You people need to wake up to yourselves and fast.

Mate I do appreciate what Benji had done in the past , but unlike some I don't live in the past

Benji doesn't offer anything to the present or the future and that is the problem and to be demanding that sort of money isn't really dealing with reality

Others are saying that Benji can mentor our juniors , but what Benji has can't be taught , it is instinctive much like Wally Lewis in a sense

If we had a limitless salary cap , maybe you could take the risk if we had the bucks Butwe don't have either

I hope Benji can find a new niche in whatever he does , as long as it isn't here , the future has arrived and its time to move on

We will go through the same thing with Farah ,Fulton and many others at some stage

 

[WestsSupporter]

The game owes him nothing. The game owes nobody anything.

 

[cqtiger]

I agree with shaboogen. Well said mate, glad to see there are still some who can look past blinding hatred. The nasty BS he has copped on here is disgusting and makes me think very few people on here have a brain in the head.

Happy, Benji is the reason our sides were competitive those years. When he first burst on the scene, the tigers were barely a park football side. They were pathetic, they were useless. We only attracted players that every other club wouldnt touch with a barge pole. We were only granted a couple of free to air games per season. Fast forward 2 years and we were every supporters second favourite side. When we played on telly with Benji in the side, ratings went through the roof. Sponsors bashed each other in the carpark for the opportunity to support us. Good players from other sides wanted to play with us. We drew big crowds and memberships. We became one of the biggest supported clubs in the game.

I am not convinced that the Wests Tigers would still be around today if Marshal hadnt played for us. We went from perrenial easy beats and the joke of the league to the most watched and exciting club in the NRL and he was at the pointy end of the reason why.

Criticise his recent play by all means. He isnt setting the world on fire, thats undisputed. Calling him a greedy, self centred, egotistical, lazy, gutless tryhard dog as more than half of this forum does makes me want to crush skulls. He deserves better. You people need to wake up to yourselves and fast.

Well tough guy, spitting your own vitriol against others on here because you don't agree with them got me laughing. Well done.

I learnt a long time ago not to argue with idiots because they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[Tiges05]

I don't understand the NRL thing.
1) He is leaving apparently not because money so why does he need the NRL to intervene??
2) he has stated he doesn't want to play for another NRL team but also doesn't want to play for the Tigers, again how does the NRL intervene?
On the rugby thing…
1) He wants to be an All Black so if he plays for an Australian Super Rugby team the ARU obviously won't top up his contract. The max SR contract I think is $300K (could be wrong)
2) If he plays for the Blues, the All Blacks aren't exactly short of a half or fly half!! Why would they pay too much for him
3) I could be wrong but I can't see him disappearing to France or Japan long term
4) Even if he decided to become a Wallaby which I don't think will happen, the ARU are cutting back on contracts. They make losses every year they are trying to curb

My 2c

 

[stevetiger]

Criticise his recent play by all means. He isnt setting the world on fire, thats undisputed. Calling him a greedy, self centred, egotistical, lazy, gutless tryhard dog as more than half of this forum does makes me want to crush skulls. He deserves better. You people need to wake up to yourselves and fast.

I basically agree with this comment and it is funny that people project so much onto him. I don't even think he has been that bad recently though.

In saying all of that this has been really poorly handled by Benji and especially Tauber. The BS that he sprouted the other day was rude. Benji also appears to be doing himself a disservice all over some short-term grab for money that I'm not convinced is out there.

Benji has been great for the Wests Tigers. I will always remember him as a great player and person however this contract dispute has soured my memories of him. I wish him the best but I can't help but think that he is making a really poor decision.

 

[Tiges05]

Steve, I'm am reasonably upset by him leaving but I think it has more to do with pride, not fitting in with Potter's team etc. There seriously can't be too many players on or being offered 700+K in the NRL. I think he's worth a lot but Thurston is maybe on 8-900? Maybe more? Is he that close (on field wise) to Thurston or Cronk?

 

[stryker]

Well tough guy, spitting your own vitriol against others on here because you don't agree with them got me laughing. Well done.

I learnt a long time ago not to argue with idiots because they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

:laughing: and yet you proceed to do so anyway? surely that makes you the greater fool?
But by all means keep riding the bandwagon of hate. I look forward to reading your insightful postings next year when you turn on Robbie.

 

[LaT]

Its not a bandwagon of hate from this forum. Its certainly a minute selection of people who are taking things too far.

Self styled tough guy rants won't change that.