Wests Tigers superstar Benji Marshall has paid young halves partner Robert Lui the ultimate compliment - comparing him to the man who combined with Marshall to win the Tigers' only NRL title in 2005.
Marshall said he saw plenty of similarities in the play of Lui and Gold Coast skipper Scott Prince - who on Friday night will line up against the Tigers rookie in what shapes as a battle for second spot.
"Him and Princey are similar in a lot of things they do with the flair they have, the way they show the ball and how good they can be when they run the ball," Marshall said.
"I think Robert Lui's only just starting to find that out the way I had to when I was his age."
A young Marshall teamed up with Prince to mastermind the Tigers' only premiership triumph, which also remains the club's only finals campaign.
But with a return to the post-season already booked for 2010, Marshall said how the Tigers performed in their comeback to finals footy would depend heavily on the 20-year-old's efforts.
And that meant Lui finding his voice, with Marshall encouraging the young playmaker to take control of the game to give him a genuine running mate for the first time since Prince's departure from the club.
"He struggled to try and overrule me and Robbie (Farah) on the field, which is pretty hard to do because if no-one else says anything I'm just going to say it," Marshall said.
"I tell him that all the time `if you don't say anything, you don't get the ball.'
"Slowly, slowly he's at a point now where he's actually telling me what he wants and demands the ball now, which is nice.
"I've been waiting for it to happen for a long time - I haven't had a consistent halves partner for four years so it's been nice to see Robbie doing well.
"When defences and other teams have to worry about what Robert Lui's doing, that's going to take their mind off me for a second and opens it up a but more for me I think."
The Tigers have won four of six games since Lui returned from a knee injury in round 20, and can wrap up second spot heading into the finals with a win over the Titans at Skilled Park.
Marshall said he saw plenty of similarities in the play of Lui and Gold Coast skipper Scott Prince - who on Friday night will line up against the Tigers rookie in what shapes as a battle for second spot.
"Him and Princey are similar in a lot of things they do with the flair they have, the way they show the ball and how good they can be when they run the ball," Marshall said.
"I think Robert Lui's only just starting to find that out the way I had to when I was his age."
A young Marshall teamed up with Prince to mastermind the Tigers' only premiership triumph, which also remains the club's only finals campaign.
But with a return to the post-season already booked for 2010, Marshall said how the Tigers performed in their comeback to finals footy would depend heavily on the 20-year-old's efforts.
And that meant Lui finding his voice, with Marshall encouraging the young playmaker to take control of the game to give him a genuine running mate for the first time since Prince's departure from the club.
"He struggled to try and overrule me and Robbie (Farah) on the field, which is pretty hard to do because if no-one else says anything I'm just going to say it," Marshall said.
"I tell him that all the time `if you don't say anything, you don't get the ball.'
"Slowly, slowly he's at a point now where he's actually telling me what he wants and demands the ball now, which is nice.
"I've been waiting for it to happen for a long time - I haven't had a consistent halves partner for four years so it's been nice to see Robbie doing well.
"When defences and other teams have to worry about what Robert Lui's doing, that's going to take their mind off me for a second and opens it up a but more for me I think."
The Tigers have won four of six games since Lui returned from a knee injury in round 20, and can wrap up second spot heading into the finals with a win over the Titans at Skilled Park.
