Big League Week - feature
**Benji Marshall moments**
Few players have left a legacy of magic moments as broad as Benji Marshall, who celebrates his 300th NRL game this weekend.
BY WILL EVANS
8 Round-the-back in classic duel (2009)
It came in a Wests Tigers loss, but Benji’s phenomenal assist against Parramatta showcased his peerless ball-playing wizardry and showmanship better than any other moment. Marshall skipped outside Joel Reddy, dummied past Jeff Robson and bamboozled Eric Grothe with a one-handed pass around his back to send Blake Ayshford over in the corner. The Tigers went down in one of 2009’s best games, but Marshall’s magic has become a highlight-reel standard in the decade since.
7 Sharks under attack (2005)
The 20-year-old Marshall was already anointed one of the NRL’s brightest talents heading into the Tigers’ Round 21 clash with Cronulla, scoring eight tries in his previous six outings. But he pulled out a mesmerising sequence that projected his path to superstardom – and inspired a generation of youngsters to follow in his footsteps. His pace and evasive skills took him past six defenders, before he fired a breathtaking no-look cut-out ball for Daniel Fitzhenry to finish a 60-metre try. The Tigers’ 46-6 victory was part of an eight-match winning streak that powered the joint venture to its maiden finals series – and a stunning premiership triumph.
6 Welcome back! (2018)
More than four years after an acrimonious split with West Tigers, Benji returned to his beloved club. The mercurial veteran inspired the Tigers to a pair of upsets against defending champs Melbourne in the opening five rounds. He was man-of-the-match in a 10-8 result at AAMI Park, then snapped a late field goal for an 11-10 win as part of an Auckland double-header. The deafening calls for a Kiwis recall went unheeded last year, but Marshall ended seven-year international hiatus in 2019.
5 Launching from halfway ( 2010)
Marshall landed one of the longest field goals in premiership history against the Titans in 2010. With only 20 seconds left in the first half at Campbelltown Stadium, the Tigers’ linchpin loaded up from the halfway line and skimmed the cross-bar to break the deadlock. The staggering strike proved the difference as the Tigers won the top four showdown 15-14. Remarkably, Marshall had not kicked a field goal prior to that season, but his catalogue of one-pointers since includes golden point match-winners against the Sharks (2012) and Cowboys (2019).
4 Hat-trick hero (2010)
A 20,168-strong crowd turned out at Leichhardt Oval for the Wests Tigers’ showdown with the Storm in the penultimate round of 2010 – and Marshall saluted them with one of his finest displays to help clinch a top four finish. He scored 18 points in the 26-14 win, including a spectacular hat-trick, pulling out a flick pass and backing up to score the Tigers’ 60-metre opener; latching onto a grubber early in the second half; and sealing the result by finishing off a 90-metre special.
3 Prelim boilover (2005)
Wests Tigers’ incredible 2005 charge was expected to come to an abrupt halt against St George Illawarra in the preliminary final, but the effervescent Tigers proved they possessed toughness to fortify their dazzling attack. Marshall scored a stunning 30-metre solo try after just three minutes, had a key hand in the sealer for Dene Halatau and constantly troubled the Dragons’ defence with his running and passing game.
2 Thwarting his countrymen (2011)
Benji almost singlehandedly delivered one of the greatest comebacks of all time at Mt Smart Stadium in 2011. The Tigers trailed by 18 points with less than 18 minutes of the mid-season encounter left, but a Marshall try gave the visitors a sniff. The New Zealand Test skipper’s bomb produced a try for Wade McKinnon in the ensuing set, before he backed up to score the long-range leveller and set up Beau Ryan’s 75th-minute match-winner, leaving the Warriors stunned.
1 The pass (2005)
Benji’s audacious flick for Pat Richards in Wests Tigers’ victory over North Queensland in the 2005 Grand Final has become enshrined as one of the most iconic moments in history, but it also overshadowed the brilliance of his 60-metre run in the lead-up. Marshall received the ball five metres out from his own line and burst through the Cowboys’ kick-chase, flashed past more cover defenders and goose-stepped towards the sideline as Matt Bowen sped across to cut him off. He then casually popped a left-handed ball to Richards to score a famous try. Marshall’s daring play was emblematic of the Tigers’ unlikely, unforgettable premiership success – and the genius that has characterised his career.
