Benji Marshall new poster boy after Golden Boot win
* Tyson Otto
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* December 04, 2010 12:00AM
WESTS Tigers superstar Benji Marshall was last night hailed as the most influential man in rugby league after the New Zealand captain was named the best player in the game, taking out the Golden Boot award.
Tigers great Benny Elias said Marshall had replaced Jarryd Hayne as rugby league's poster boy.
"Everything you could have done this year, he did," Elias said.
"He ticked every box. He totally deserves it. Just look at what he did with the New Zealanders against all odds in the Four Nations. When he's off the field, his teammates are still looking to him for direction. Even off the field players are looking to him."
Tigers coach Tim Sheens believes Marshall has transformed from a boy to a man in the past two years.
Sheens also warned rival clubs his star five-eighth still had room to improve after "his best season yet", culminating in the Tigers' preliminary final appearance and New Zealand's Four Nations triumph.
Marshall, who was a runaway winner of the award finishing more than 20 votes ahead of Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall, broke Australia's five-year stranglehold on the award, voted on by former players and journalists, and the Melbourne Storm's three consecutive gongs.
Sheens said the 25-year-old Marshall had matured.
"You can't call him a boy anymore," Sheens said.
"There's no doubt he's a different person to what he was two years ago. Our motto this year has been full- timers to professionals. There's a big difference between them. He's certainly shown that."
The No. 7 played every game for the Tigers and New Zealand this season, more than any other player.
Sheens said Marshall had particularly shown maturity in his work off the field with his injury prevention work with team medicos, strengthening the weaknesses in his shoulders.
Marshall re-signed with the Tigers until the end of the 2015 season in February, but Sheens said it was unfair to say he was the future of the joint-venture club.
"That's putting too much pressure on him," he said.
"We don't want him to have too much responsibility.
"We like to think of him as a franchise player. He's played his whole career here and he should be here for the rest of it, which is quite rare these days."
Marshall said the award meant a lot to him following a "dark period" when his father passed away and he was put under the microscope like never before.
"To win this award after coming back from three shoulder reconstructions, winning the Four Nations and having my best ever year since I've started in the NRL is pretty overwhelming," Marshall said.
"It's definitely something I won't take for granted."
Marshall will return to training with his Wests Tigers teammates in early January.
The Kiwis' Four Nations success saw them dominate the world team of the year with Marshall, Kenny-Dowall, Manu Vatuvei, Jason Nightingale and Nathan Fien all named.
Australia were represented by Paul Gallen, Sam Thaiday, Cameron Smith, David Shillington, Billy Slater and Brent Tate.
Sam Burgess and James Graham were the only English players named.
