Marshall cost the Tigers
Phil Rothfield
Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 10:36pm
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THREE weeks ago I wrote that Benji Marshall would either win - or lose - the 2010 premiership for the Wests Tigers.
And when it came down to the business end of last night’s ANZ Stadium thriller - he lost it.
Without doubt, the Tigers would not have made it as far as the grand final qualifier without this engimatic genius wearing the number six jersey.
He is the absolute superstar of the code and by far the biggest drawcard in the game.
But a cold and hard analysis of last night’s game will show that St George-Illawarra won because of Benji’s blunders in the final 10 minutes when the contest was up for grabs.
You could argue that in the first half the Tigers gave away too many penalties and you could also argue Benji was the reason they went to the break with a 12-6 lead.
But what you can’t argue about is that the Dragons are in the grand final and Benji is on annual leave.
In the 73rd minute when the Tigers were looking for field position, Benji sprayed his fifth tackle kick into touch on the full.
The Dragons took five hit-ups then Jamie Soward showed ice-cool composure to bang the field goal over that ended up being the difference.
There were still six minutes remaining and the Tigers were still in the football game.
The Tigers were desperate but ready to launch one final challenge but Benji knocked the ball on and it was game over.
So the Dragons march on to play the Roosters next weekend in the big one. It’s shaping up as a classic contest to decide the premiership.
The Roosters, a brilliant attacking unit led by Mitch Pearce and Todd Carney against an outfit that plays with machine like efficiency every week.
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Phil Rothfield
Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 10:36pm
\
\
THREE weeks ago I wrote that Benji Marshall would either win - or lose - the 2010 premiership for the Wests Tigers.
And when it came down to the business end of last night’s ANZ Stadium thriller - he lost it.
Without doubt, the Tigers would not have made it as far as the grand final qualifier without this engimatic genius wearing the number six jersey.
He is the absolute superstar of the code and by far the biggest drawcard in the game.
But a cold and hard analysis of last night’s game will show that St George-Illawarra won because of Benji’s blunders in the final 10 minutes when the contest was up for grabs.
You could argue that in the first half the Tigers gave away too many penalties and you could also argue Benji was the reason they went to the break with a 12-6 lead.
But what you can’t argue about is that the Dragons are in the grand final and Benji is on annual leave.
In the 73rd minute when the Tigers were looking for field position, Benji sprayed his fifth tackle kick into touch on the full.
The Dragons took five hit-ups then Jamie Soward showed ice-cool composure to bang the field goal over that ended up being the difference.
There were still six minutes remaining and the Tigers were still in the football game.
The Tigers were desperate but ready to launch one final challenge but Benji knocked the ball on and it was game over.
So the Dragons march on to play the Roosters next weekend in the big one. It’s shaping up as a classic contest to decide the premiership.
The Roosters, a brilliant attacking unit led by Mitch Pearce and Todd Carney against an outfit that plays with machine like efficiency every week.
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/buzzwords/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/marshall_cost_the_tigers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
