Benji Marshalls, brother is on the rise(paper)

[Yossarian]

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Bagging the kid just because his brother is Benji is unfair. You've basically said he doesn't deserve a contract yet you've never seen him play.

No one has said that. I think It's more along the lines of 'I wish i had seen him play so i know whether or not he is deservig of a contract, because it sounds odd.'

Oh come on now… A few people on this thread have suggested he got a contract based solely on him being Benji's brother. You'd hope McDonnell or whoever made the decision to sign him had a good look but in any case I'm sure he was cheap so let's just see what happens?

 

[innsaneink]

]
Bagging the kid just because his brother is Benji is unfair. You've basically said he doesn't deserve a contract yet you've never seen him play.

No one has said that. I think It's more along the lines of 'I wish i had seen him play so i know whether or not he is deservig of a contract, because it sounds odd.'

Oh come on now… **A few people on this thread have suggested he got a contract based solely on him being Benji's brother.** You'd hope McDonnell or whoever made the decision to sign him had a good look but in any case I'm sure he was cheap so let's just see what happens?

I havent seen this…..but based on his history of minimal league, I'd say it played a large part

 

[Goose]

If he's got a contract you'd have to think he's going to play at some point right? Maybe we'll see him in one of the lead in games on Foundation Cup night.

Maybe he didn't trial for the junior teams - who knows? If he didn't play league last year that would explain why he didn't play junior league reps last year. Who says he won't play SG Ball or NYC this year? Benji didn't play in either comp. As I recall he played 1 or 2 WT Cubs games and then NRL straightout of schoolboys.

I'm sure the WT wouldn't offer him a contract if he had no talent. They've cut the children of Steve Roach and Garry Jack so having a famous name only gets you so far. When he starts playing make a call on his talents then.

Bagging the kid just because his brother is Benji is unfair. You've basically said he doesn't deserve a contract yet you've never seen him play. But if you've still got the Brad Pitts about it go to one of the Football club AGMs and ask some questions.

Benji played a bit of Flegg and dominated, I was very excited about him well before his NRL debut

I agree with your sentiments tho, none of us have seen him play, and carrying the Marshall name is a tough gig, blokes will be waiting to cut him down….

the poor kid is going to have a lot of people throwing out the "his no benji" comments, and they are probably right, there are very few benji's around.

I wish the kid luck, he is going to need it

 

[Yossarian]

If he's got a contract you'd have to think he's going to play at some point right? Maybe we'll see him in one of the lead in games on Foundation Cup night.

Maybe he didn't trial for the junior teams - who knows? If he didn't play league last year that would explain why he didn't play junior league reps last year. Who says he won't play SG Ball or NYC this year? Benji didn't play in either comp. As I recall he played 1 or 2 WT Cubs games and then NRL straightout of schoolboys.

I'm sure the WT wouldn't offer him a contract if he had no talent. They've cut the children of Steve Roach and Garry Jack so having a famous name only gets you so far. When he starts playing make a call on his talents then.

Bagging the kid just because his brother is Benji is unfair. You've basically said he doesn't deserve a contract yet you've never seen him play. But if you've still got the Brad Pitts about it go to one of the Football club AGMs and ask some questions.

Benji played a bit of Flegg and dominated, I was very excited about him well before his NRL debut

I believe that is wrong. Benji played WT Cubs and schoolboys. I don't believe Benji played any Flegg or for that matter SG Ball, Harold Matthews or even NYC. He played NRL straight out of HS when he was based on the Gold Coast. You probably remember him playing for the WT Cubs team which was a combined team of Balmain and Magpies juniors. He played a couple of games for WT Cubs.

 

[Goose]

perhaps it was WT Cubs, memory plays tricks on me :slight_smile:

slightly related, Benji obviously proceeds NYC, But that comp is great for giving us a look at the next gen of tigers , remember back in the day, the only time you got to see the players is by getting to junior games, which was unusual for most fans, unless there was a lot of hype about an up n comer it just did not happen.

 

[tiger05]

I don't think Benji played any lower grade Footy. I remember seeing him debut against Penrith (I think) - he came off the bench and played fullback.

Pretty amazing really. He played no lower grade and debuted in First grade while still at school.

 

[2041]

I always assumed Souths signed Sam Burgess's brother as a way of chucking the first grade model a few more dollars through the back door. Worst case scenario maybe Tigers can at least do the same with Marshall jr…

 

[hammertime]

You never know, Jordan could have been avoiding most contact in his early years knowing what happened to his brothers shoulders. Instead focused on touch, which apparently he played at the highest level at.

It sounds like his League skills might not be up to scratch, but if he repped in touch, his attack and speed must be good. Once maybe he learns positional play and how to tackle and he might be something special.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Oh come on now… A few people on this thread have suggested he got a contract based solely on him being Benji's brother. You'd hope McDonnell or whoever made the decision to sign him had a good look but in any case I'm sure he was cheap so let's just see what happens?

Not really. Both Wests and Balmain have a good record of signing relatives of good players.

Michael Neil and Chris Blair immediately spring to mind and of course John Elias was signed as he claimed he was related to Ben Elias.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I figure we gave Shannon McDonnell a go, so why shouldn't we offer Jordan a contract. If you're going to be nepotistic you may as well go the full monty.

 

[Yossarian]

Oh come on now… A few people on this thread have suggested he got a contract based solely on him being Benji's brother. You'd hope McDonnell or whoever made the decision to sign him had a good look but in any case I'm sure he was cheap so let's just see what happens?

Not really. Both Wests and Balmain have a good record of signing relatives of good players.

Michael Neil and Chris Blair immediately spring to mind and of course John Elias was signed as he claimed he was related to Ben Elias.

Michael Neil? John Elias? What is this - 1985? In any case they were both very good players. I don't even remember who Mick Neil was related to. That John Elias thing is a bit of an urban myth. John might have claimed that but fact is, he was already an established player in Brisbane and Sydney before he went to Balmain. Balmain was his 4th or 5th club!
My first reaction to Chris Blair was - who? Cameron Blair's brother? It's not like Cameron Blair is in the same calibre as Benji Marshall or Ben Elias…

Anyway this all happened a long long time ago... Recently we've seen the sons of 2 greats get cut.

 

[Yossarian]

I don't think Benji played any lower grade Footy. I remember seeing him debut against Penrith (I think) - he came off the bench and played fullback.

Pretty amazing really. He played no lower grade and debuted in First grade while still at school.

Debuted against Newcastle out at Cambo. I know he played one cubs games before that and scored a bunch of tries but yeah its an amazing achievement. Never played reserve grade either.

 

[Ed_Reschs]

Oh come on now… A few people on this thread have suggested he got a contract based solely on him being Benji's brother. You'd hope McDonnell or whoever made the decision to sign him had a good look but in any case I'm sure he was cheap so let's just see what happens?

Not really. Both Wests and Balmain have a good record of signing relatives of good players.

Michael Neil and Chris Blair immediately spring to mind and of course John Elias was signed as he claimed he was related to Ben Elias.

Gary what about the Cogger Brothers? Trevor and John.

 

[william_rodgers]

Yossarian is right debuted against newcastle @ campbelltown & played fullback, i think he played a couple of cubbs games & the refs used to talk about the kid with the great sidestep.

 

[Yossarian]

Yossarian is right debuted against newcastle @ campbelltown & played fullback, i think he played a couple of cubbs games & the refs used to talk about the kid with the great sidestep.

Slightly off topic - someone was going to upload that game on youtube. I forget who now but it'd be great to watch again.