Marshall Dumped as Kiwi Captain

[Tiger_Watto]

NZ won the World Cup because of Benji, and he was captain at the time. Seems like a strange thing to do to me - to announce that they are taking the captaincy away from Benji without saying who the new captain is. I hope its not to make way for SBW.

My guess is this is about Benji's relationship with Kearney. He's the one who deserves to be dropped, if anyone.

**Benji is a confidence player**, and his confidence is already down because of the way we ended the season last year. **This might not be the blessing some of you are predicting**.

You might be on the money there PC
Better for us they announced it now so his cheer squad and Potter can get in his ear and pump up his tyres again before the comp starts.
Would have been a MASSIVE kick in the guts for him (and embarrassing in his eyes), hope Kearney was decent enough to lay out his reasoning.

Kearney is still very close to Wayne Bennett and they discuss NZ's progress regularly… I'm wondering if this is a result to the very poor performance by the NRL All Stars and the fact Benji didnt make any effort to rally the troops?

 

[diedpretty]

My bet is he's been crap for us and is generally crap in rep games and they are just waking up to the fact

He is immature still tho….very quick to lose his cool

I was thinking the same thing Ink - may be the tap on the shoulder - last chance Benji or we are clearing the decks. Could just be the wake up call he needs.

 

[PYMBLEPETE]

I feel sorry for Benji in this instance. I cant see that the NZ team's recent results are down to his performance or captaincy.

Anyhow, one door closes and another opens; it is surely a big positive for Wests Tigers as he will have one helluva point to prove to Kearney.

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Benji Marshall represents New Zealand. Who is bigger in New Zealand apart from SBW. Let Kearney justify his reason for dumping Benji. Make SBW captain. I'm sorry but Mannering is boring. Enjoy it while it lasts Kearney.

 

[tig_prmz]

mannering would be a 10x better captain than benji.
he is a smart footballer, plays with heart, gives 100% everytime, for the warriors he rallies his troops when the going gets tough.

mannering would be a better captain than benji for sure.

 

[happy_tiger]

I don't think that Benji is a great captain personally He's not really a "follow me blokes , lead by example ,do as I

do " player

Of course he is the face of Rogby League in NZ , but NZ wants to win the World Cup .

NZ will need a great leader on field to pose a serious threat to Australia

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

its not gonna be mannering. He just doesnt have the charisma.

 

[neville]

NZ won the World Cup because of Benji, and he was captain at the time. Seems like a strange thing to do to me - to announce that they are taking the captaincy away from Benji without saying who the new captain is. I hope its not to make way for SBW.

My guess is this is about Benji's relationship with Kearney. He's the one who deserves to be dropped, if anyone.

Benji is a confidence player, and his confidence is already down because of the way we ended the season last year. This might not be the blessing some of you are predicting.

100% agree. We all know Benji is a confidence player, this will hurt his ego big time. I don't think this will spark anything, as he knows he won't be getting the captaincy back regardless. I don't think this is great news for the Tigers.

 

[steve-o]

its not gonna be mannering. He just doesnt have the charisma.

ha got this one wrong AHX

 

[tig_prmz]

its not gonna be mannering. He just doesnt have the charisma.

what ya mean?

 

[innsaneink]

He's a very proud and passionate Kiwi…this will hurt

 

[cunno]

I hope he is disappointed… Regardless if he should or shouldn't be Captain, this might be the blessing we have all been waiting for to Kick Benji in the Bum and get our season off to a flyer.

Its not like anyone at Concord has been prepared to do it!!!

On the mark Watto. Looking for a positive impact on Benjis game which will flow to our team.

 

[cunno]

Benji Marshall represents New Zealand. Who is bigger in New Zealand apart from SBW. Let Kearney justify his reason for dumping Benji. Make SBW captain. I'm sorry but Mannering is boring. Enjoy it while it lasts Kearney.

You are right there AHX Benji is big in NZ, I was there recently and was surprised at seeing a few people wearing WTs gear, didn't see people wearing other Sydney club gear though.

 

[rossop]

Except for a couple of games Benji's form was below par last year, as was the whole(WT) team's. I think this would have a lot to do with it.

 

[barra]

Benji has failed to make an impact for some time in the Kiwi jersey and I'd say that has everything to do with it.

The biggest issue for Benji - as it is for every team he plays in - is how the coach utilizes his talents and position in the team. With the wrong players around him and a game plan that doesn't suit him it puts his performance behind the 8 ball, and if Benji fails to take the game by the scruff of the neck and pull off some amazing plays his 80 minutes is going to look way below par.

Coaches need to realise how to harness his input, and that includes the right players and game plan. It's not rocket science but might be beyond Kearney, or at least not his master plan.

 

[smoking_gun]

this decision is almost as dumb as new zealand rugby leagues decision to appoint kearny as coach