Wests Tigers star Benji Marshall upset over being fined
* By Josh Massoud
INTERNAL rumblings are being blamed for Wests Tigers' dramatic nosedive from the top eight, with Benji Marshall believed to be at odds with other senior players after being fined for ill-discipline.
Marshall was upset when fined a four-figure sum for running late to a recovery session after the Tigers' Anzac weekend loss to Penrith.
Wests Tigers then produced an untidy display in the following week's defeat to the Roosters, which was followed by Sunday's Heritage Round implosion against South Sydney that also featured a sadly out-of-touch Marshall.
The 50-10 SCG massacre was arguably the joint venture's worst performance since inception a decade ago, and has increased the pressure on coach Tim Sheens to break a four-year finals drought.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Marshall ran late on the Monday after the Penrith loss, and that club officials consulted other senior players about an appropriate penalty. A fine was eventually decided upon but, according to a source close to the club, the Kiwi skipper was unhappy about his teammates' input.
"He was disappointed about the fine, and especially the fact some of the other players were involved in making the decision," the source said.
After an impressive start to the year that delivered four wins in their opening five clashes, the Tigers now face a season-defining trip to Newcastle on Friday as they seek to avoid a fifth straight defeat.
Their cause suffered further damage yesterday when Liam Fulton (shoulder) and Blake Ayshford (groin) were both ruled out for at least four weeks, joining Keith Galloway, Jason Cayless and Tim Moltzen in the black and gold casualty ward.
Tigers CEO Stephen Humphreys refused to comment publicly about Marshall's fine, but conceded the team's effort against Souths was "unacceptable".
"I think what happens in our workplace should stay there, so I'm not going to make any public
comments," Humphreys said. "It's an in-house matter between employer and employee."
Asked if he was concerned about team morale and relations between players in the wake of Sunday's flogging, Humphreys replied: "The performance was out of character and clearly unacceptable.
"The captain and coach have apologised unreservedly.
"We expect to see immediate improvement this week.
"There were no obvious under-currents or morale issues.
"But when you've got a group of 30 guys who spend 11 months together there's going to be some highs and lows, and this is a low that we need to work our way out of."
Marshall's manager Martin Tauber last night said he knew nothing about the fine.
"We don't talk about those types of things, but if Benji was upset then he didn't tell me when I met him last Saturday," Tauber said.
The mercurial Kiwi skipper made a series of uncharacteristic errors that led directly to Rabbitohs tries, but he was far from alone in having a poor game.
Barely any Tigers were able to walk off the hallowed SCG turf with their heads held high, and the players later struggled to nominate a best-on-ground for the team.
________________________________________
These things normally pop up around the time of a bad loss so its hard to know how credible the story is.
But Benji has been very quiet the last few weeks, like his mind isnt on the job.
* By Josh Massoud
INTERNAL rumblings are being blamed for Wests Tigers' dramatic nosedive from the top eight, with Benji Marshall believed to be at odds with other senior players after being fined for ill-discipline.
Marshall was upset when fined a four-figure sum for running late to a recovery session after the Tigers' Anzac weekend loss to Penrith.
Wests Tigers then produced an untidy display in the following week's defeat to the Roosters, which was followed by Sunday's Heritage Round implosion against South Sydney that also featured a sadly out-of-touch Marshall.
The 50-10 SCG massacre was arguably the joint venture's worst performance since inception a decade ago, and has increased the pressure on coach Tim Sheens to break a four-year finals drought.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Marshall ran late on the Monday after the Penrith loss, and that club officials consulted other senior players about an appropriate penalty. A fine was eventually decided upon but, according to a source close to the club, the Kiwi skipper was unhappy about his teammates' input.
"He was disappointed about the fine, and especially the fact some of the other players were involved in making the decision," the source said.
After an impressive start to the year that delivered four wins in their opening five clashes, the Tigers now face a season-defining trip to Newcastle on Friday as they seek to avoid a fifth straight defeat.
Their cause suffered further damage yesterday when Liam Fulton (shoulder) and Blake Ayshford (groin) were both ruled out for at least four weeks, joining Keith Galloway, Jason Cayless and Tim Moltzen in the black and gold casualty ward.
Tigers CEO Stephen Humphreys refused to comment publicly about Marshall's fine, but conceded the team's effort against Souths was "unacceptable".
"I think what happens in our workplace should stay there, so I'm not going to make any public
comments," Humphreys said. "It's an in-house matter between employer and employee."
Asked if he was concerned about team morale and relations between players in the wake of Sunday's flogging, Humphreys replied: "The performance was out of character and clearly unacceptable.
"The captain and coach have apologised unreservedly.
"We expect to see immediate improvement this week.
"There were no obvious under-currents or morale issues.
"But when you've got a group of 30 guys who spend 11 months together there's going to be some highs and lows, and this is a low that we need to work our way out of."
Marshall's manager Martin Tauber last night said he knew nothing about the fine.
"We don't talk about those types of things, but if Benji was upset then he didn't tell me when I met him last Saturday," Tauber said.
The mercurial Kiwi skipper made a series of uncharacteristic errors that led directly to Rabbitohs tries, but he was far from alone in having a poor game.
Barely any Tigers were able to walk off the hallowed SCG turf with their heads held high, and the players later struggled to nominate a best-on-ground for the team.
________________________________________
These things normally pop up around the time of a bad loss so its hard to know how credible the story is.
But Benji has been very quiet the last few weeks, like his mind isnt on the job.
