Marshall dropped

[Telltails]

A good one for Benji to miss if some of our recent performances against Canberra are any thing to go by.

 

[weststigers]

Total over reaction imho.

Jennings had to go (should never have been here in the first place).
Seyfarth would have been my other to go, Would have put Packer in.

Academic anyway, with that many changes it is now going to be very CLUNKY!

Why did Walters get bumped? Some strange ones there by Madge.

 

[Curaeus]

Fair play to Benji for fronting up on NRL360 tonight to talk about his dropping. Must have been a sore one and there’s not many players who would have done that.

James Graham just before him was a fair effort as well just quietly

both good guys and both pros!

 

[JC99]

Total over reaction imho.

Jennings had to go (should never have been here in the first place).
Seyfarth would have been my other to go, Would have put Packer in.

Academic anyway, with that many changes it is now going to be very CLUNKY!

Why did Walters get bumped? Some strange ones there by Madge.

We need grant playing 80 that’s why. Would’ve preferred him at 6 over Reynolds though but maybe Madge wants that experience and wining mentality that Reynolds brings

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

If Reynolds is fit I have no issue with him coming in. Always provides a bit of spark and isn't afraid to run the ball either. We lose a bit in the kicking department but since we seem devoid of creativity there it's not much lost anyway. Everyone bemoans that Penrith game at Penrith last year, but we wouldn't have even got on the board if it weren't for him.

 

[tigerap]

Total over reaction imho.

Jennings had to go (should never have been here in the first place).
Seyfarth would have been my other to go, Would have put Packer in.

Academic anyway, with that many changes it is now going to be very CLUNKY!

Why did Walters get bumped? Some strange ones there by Madge.

We need grant playing 80 that’s why. Would’ve preferred him at 6 over Reynolds though but maybe Madge wants that experience and wining mentality that Reynolds brings

Your suggesting Grant play 6....wow

 

[Celtic_Tiger]

Fair play to Benji for fronting up on NRL360 tonight to talk about his dropping. Must have been a sore one and there’s not many players who would have done that.

What did he say about it btw

Pretty generic stuff TBH. said Madge had pulled him into his office in the morning and told him he wanted to make a change. Said he was disappointed but would work hard to be better and regain his place.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Benji has been hard done by to be dropped. He usually causes trouble for the Raiders' defence. He has Reynolds covered and imo bringing him into the team is a retrograde step. Energy does not make up for the lack of polish in a half. Josh should be paying Benji half his contract.

 

[tony soprano]

Benji has been hard done by to be dropped. He usually causes trouble for the Raiders' defence. He has Reynolds covered and imo bringing him into the team is a retrograde step. Energy does not make up for the lack of polish in a half. Josh should be paying Benji half his contract.

Last year they held us to zero.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Benji has been hard done by to be dropped. He usually causes trouble for the Raiders' defence. He has Reynolds covered and imo bringing him into the team is a retrograde step. Energy does not make up for the lack of polish in a half. Josh should be paying Benji half his contract.

Last year they held us to zero.

They are a very good side and you need your best on the field.

 

[Telltails]

I love Benji but the writing is on the wall in terms of how much longer he has in the game.
Much the same for Reynolds the difference being he gets paid almost triple that Benji does. Both players have to be honest and realise that despite being good blokes their days are numbered in first grade anywhere in this competition. Both have something to offer, but the club has to look to the future and the coach has a level of accountability to the team and the club that requires some tough decisions.

 

[Geo]

Total over reaction imho.

Jennings had to go (should never have been here in the first place).
Seyfarth would have been my other to go, Would have put Packer in.

Academic anyway, with that many changes it is now going to be very CLUNKY!

Why did Walters get bumped? Some strange ones there by Madge.

We need grant playing 80 that’s why. Would’ve preferred him at 6 over Reynolds though but maybe Madge wants that experience and wining mentality that Reynolds brings

Your suggesting Grant play 6....wow

Josh is suggesting Walters play 6 ahead of Reynolds in answer to Walters getting bumped...saying we need to play Grant for 80 mins at hooker..it's an option

 

[bacon]

Marshall has the best record against the Raiders on the Tigers...I remember in 2016-17 & 18 we lost by a remarkable amount of points to the Raiders and then Marshall returned from injury and we won by a try.
Interesting decision, let's hope it pays off.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Marshall has the best record against the Raiders on the Tigers...I remember in 2016-17 & 18 we lost by a remarkable amount of points to the Raiders and then Marshall returned from injury and we won by a try.
Interesting decision, let's hope it pays off.

As soon as I found out he had been dropped, I believed it to be a major tactical error. Benji and for that matter Moses always seemed to cause major problems for the Raiders.

 

[tig_prmz]

i think it's the first time in his life benji has been dropped at the tigers?
potter relegated him to the bench but never completely out of the side

i think benji is leading the Dally Ms for us too. madge is making more of a statement than anything else.

 

[gallagher]

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/wests-tigers-bombshell-maguire-drops-marshall-after-titans-shocker-20200609-p550vh.html


Benji Marshall has been Michael Maguire's right-hand man since the coach arrived at the club last year. The coach's pet, to some degree. He's involved in team selections, recruitment and retention plans and all leadership meetings.

It's why, when news of Marshall's pending axing started spreading around the club's Concord headquarters after the pair met on Tuesday morning, Tigers players were stunned. None more so than Marshall, who was bemused when letting his frustrations be known to the coach.

Benji Marshall during Sunday night's loss to the Gold Coast Titans.
Benji Marshall during Sunday night's loss to the Gold Coast Titans.CREDIT:GETTY

Marshall cut a dejected figure when Maguire addressed the playing group later in the day to inform them Josh Reynolds would be wearing the No.6 jersey against Canberra on Saturday, dropping the club's most iconic figure because he "didn't meet the standards" against the Titans.

Maguire's decision to dump Marshall was made with the intent of drawing a line in the sand at a club that has perennially underachieved, growing "sick and tired" of the inconsistency. Perhaps the controversial decision to "cut the head off the leader", as Robbie Farah described it, may prove the catalyst for change.

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But in axing Marshall, a player who received man-of-the-match honours in both the Tigers' wins, Maguire has opened the door for murmurs of discontent in the playing ranks towards the hard-nosed coach to undermine what he is trying to build.

When players have turned to Marshall with concerns about the coaching style of Maguire in the past, the veteran has defended him to the hilt. There's no greater supporter of Maguire at the club than Marshall, who was last year also appointed as New Zealand captain by his club coach.

Benji Marshall training with Josh Reynolds.
Benji Marshall training with Josh Reynolds.CREDIT:GETTY

It's why the decision to drop him sends a very strong message to the rest of the team that, if the co-captain and the coach's favourite can be dropped, everyone is on notice.

"I was little bit shocked and disappointed that I got dropped," Marshall said on NRL 360.

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"Any player would be in that position. If you’re competitive and you want to be part of the team, of course you are going to be disappointed ... what the coach has done has really put everyone on notice that we're looking for consistency, so you can't go up one week and down the next week."

There's also a fear internally at the club that it may backfire on Maguire, who has relied so heavily on Marshall to be the conduit between him and his players. That, perhaps the man who played the role as the coach's eyes and ears within the squad, might no longer be watching and listening if the veteran feels disrespected by Maguire's decision.

Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire barking instructions.
Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire barking instructions.

Since arriving at Tigers headquarters in 2019, Maguire has ruffled some feathers - including that of Ryan Matterson, who walked out on the club to link with Parramatta because he didn't want to work under Maguire.

The Tigers, concerned with welfare issues around the players in regards to Maguire's intense training regime, brought in highly regarded high performance manager Andrew Gray in the offseason to control the training workload. Sources at the club say it has done little to change things.

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"He's made some massive calls," retired club legend Farah said of Maguire's host of changes on NRL Teams.

"I think Benji has been our best player in the two wins we've had. I think there are some other players in that side that can count themselves quite lucky, to be honest, because they've been going a lot worse than Benji has.

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"Is Madge looking for a reaction? He's cut the head off the leader, pretty much. So does everyone look at that and say if he's done that, I'm next? He's put everyone on notice by doing this, I just hope he's made the right call because Benji is a leader and this is a club ... that doesn't have any leaders this year."

The decision to drop Marshall is puzzling considering he currently sits equal second alongside Mitchell Moses, Tom Trbojevic and Clint Gutherson on the Dally M leaderboard with six points, one off pace-setter Jason Taumalolo.

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Marshall was famously benched by former Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter back in 2013, which ultimately led to the five-eighth's departure to rugby union and fractured the club given the treatment of the much-loved playmaker.

He is off contract at the end of the year. Many, judging by his performances the last 12 months, thought he would run around again for the Tigers next season. He has also attracted interest from clubs in the Super League, appointing new manager Matt Desira to seek out options. But what Marshall does next year will hinge on how he responds to Maguire's axing. Perhaps history may be repeating itself.

 

[Tiger5150]

Benji has been hard done by to be dropped. He usually causes trouble for the Raiders' defence. He has Reynolds covered and imo bringing him into the team is a retrograde step. Energy does not make up for the lack of polish in a half. Josh should be paying Benji half his contract.

Totally agree with this. Josh will bring "*energy*" but we need organisation and poise, implementing a game plan.

My prediction is that Reynolds bursts into the game buzzing to show how much "*energy*" he has and he will run when he should have passed and stifle our backline. If we need someone to close out a game, Reynolds is the guy you want?

 

[BZN]

Careful what you wish for, I say.

I'm not against a clean-out but if we get lapped by Raiders, what then?

We adopt the Mercy rule that applies in the gentlemen's game of cricket @jirskyr
and forfeit the remaining games :joy: :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing:

 

[TillLindemann]

All will be well. Reynolds will star in our victory over Canberra, but will be injured in the back end of the match. Benji will be back next week and our march to the 2020 premiership will continue.