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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/benji-marshall-is-set-to-be-more-consistent-for-wests-tigers/story-e6frexs9-1226583835701
HERE'S a reason Wests Tigers fans should look forward to the season ahead - even when every bookie in the country has already put a line through the Tigers as genuine title threats.
In the countdown to tonight's Foundation Cup clash against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium, new coach Mick Potter has outlined his plan to make the most brilliant playmaker in the game a better footballer.
It has nothing to do with teaching Benji Marshall new tricks, it has everything to do with consistency.
As Potter says, Marshall needs to pull back if he wants to take the team forward.
"He's got things in his game that other people can't do and sometimes he is just too good for his own team," was how Potter put it.
"He does things his own team just aren't ready for."
We've all seen what Potter is talking about.
How Benji can produce the magic one week that wins the game, then the next week he will come up with the wrong option at the worst possible time and send the crowd home cursing his name.
Potter doesn't say it like it's a direct insult aimed at his star player. On the contrary, it is more a statement of fact.
And the statistics supplied by Fox Sports Stats back him up. In 2012 Benji led the NRL with most try assists (37) and linebreak assists (37) - but his 41 errors were also the most from any player in the regular season.
And remember, the Tigers missed the play-offs.
Sure, they had a terrible run of injuries during the season and given the turmoil at the club you wouldn't dare pin the blame on one man.
Still, even his greatest supporters would concede that it wasn't Benji's most stunning season.
Which is why the Tigers have gone from starting 2012 as premiership favourites to $17 outsiders entering 2013, 10th in NRL betting.
Yet, like it has done for a decade now, so much depends on Marshall's magic. He turns 28 on Monday and this will be his 11th season in the top grade.
Too old to change? Potter thinks not - and says what's more important is that the man himself understands the need for change.
He says it's not about blaming Benji for his freakish talent, more about helping him understand sometimes his teammates just can't keep up.
"He has been excellent, he has taken it on board," the Tigers coach said.
"He understands what he needs to do, that is the good thing and that is probably the easy thing for me, he understands.
"He is on a different stratosphere with some of the things he can do. So it's about getting him to work with the team and realise that not all the time they are on the same wavelength.
"He knows what he is seeing but he is just trying to get everybody up to Benji's standards. I'm not trying to harness anyone.
"We are just trying to get him to understand that sometimes the team members can't go with him on certain plays. (Sometimes) he needs to pull back a little bit.
"But also drag the other players up to him, meet halfway where everyone is on the same wavelength all the time.
"I do think Benji has got a little bit of improvement in him.
"And it is now about getting him to be accountable for his part of the game, whether it is for defence or whether it is attack, to just do a little bit more in certain areas.
"He has got some good things going for him and I want to encourage those - and he has got some things that he needs to work on.
"It is just about getting that balance right for the team."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/benji-marshall-is-set-to-be-more-consistent-for-wests-tigers/story-e6frexs9-1226583835701
HERE'S a reason Wests Tigers fans should look forward to the season ahead - even when every bookie in the country has already put a line through the Tigers as genuine title threats.
In the countdown to tonight's Foundation Cup clash against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium, new coach Mick Potter has outlined his plan to make the most brilliant playmaker in the game a better footballer.
It has nothing to do with teaching Benji Marshall new tricks, it has everything to do with consistency.
As Potter says, Marshall needs to pull back if he wants to take the team forward.
"He's got things in his game that other people can't do and sometimes he is just too good for his own team," was how Potter put it.
"He does things his own team just aren't ready for."
We've all seen what Potter is talking about.
How Benji can produce the magic one week that wins the game, then the next week he will come up with the wrong option at the worst possible time and send the crowd home cursing his name.
Potter doesn't say it like it's a direct insult aimed at his star player. On the contrary, it is more a statement of fact.
And the statistics supplied by Fox Sports Stats back him up. In 2012 Benji led the NRL with most try assists (37) and linebreak assists (37) - but his 41 errors were also the most from any player in the regular season.
And remember, the Tigers missed the play-offs.
Sure, they had a terrible run of injuries during the season and given the turmoil at the club you wouldn't dare pin the blame on one man.
Still, even his greatest supporters would concede that it wasn't Benji's most stunning season.
Which is why the Tigers have gone from starting 2012 as premiership favourites to $17 outsiders entering 2013, 10th in NRL betting.
Yet, like it has done for a decade now, so much depends on Marshall's magic. He turns 28 on Monday and this will be his 11th season in the top grade.
Too old to change? Potter thinks not - and says what's more important is that the man himself understands the need for change.
He says it's not about blaming Benji for his freakish talent, more about helping him understand sometimes his teammates just can't keep up.
"He has been excellent, he has taken it on board," the Tigers coach said.
"He understands what he needs to do, that is the good thing and that is probably the easy thing for me, he understands.
"He is on a different stratosphere with some of the things he can do. So it's about getting him to work with the team and realise that not all the time they are on the same wavelength.
"He knows what he is seeing but he is just trying to get everybody up to Benji's standards. I'm not trying to harness anyone.
"We are just trying to get him to understand that sometimes the team members can't go with him on certain plays. (Sometimes) he needs to pull back a little bit.
"But also drag the other players up to him, meet halfway where everyone is on the same wavelength all the time.
"I do think Benji has got a little bit of improvement in him.
"And it is now about getting him to be accountable for his part of the game, whether it is for defence or whether it is attack, to just do a little bit more in certain areas.
"He has got some good things going for him and I want to encourage those - and he has got some things that he needs to work on.
"It is just about getting that balance right for the team."
