dazza65
Well-known member
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/i-dont-regret-my-decision-benji-reveals-why-hes-going-20130717-2q4wn.html
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
Well here it is ... Benji's own words
- Thread starter dazza65
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tig_prmz
Well-known member
An emotional Benji Marshall says he has no regrets about his decision to leave Wests Tigers at the end of this season, declaring: ''For myself, for my game, for my life, for my happiness, I had to do this. I weighed up a lot of things, I wrote down a lot of stuff, pros and cons, but my decision was about what was best for me, and I thought that I needed a change.''
That change will see Marshall leave the Tigers at the end of this season, assuming club officials allow him a release from the last two years of his contract. Breaking his silence on the shock move, Marshall said he was excited about the prospect of a switch to rugby union while also devastated to be leaving his home for more than a decade.
That said: ''I don't regret my decision at all. Some people aren't going to be happy, but those people aren't living my life. I am.''
Asked why he had made the call to leave the club he helped to a premiership win in 2005, Marshall said: ''It's a combination of a lot of things. A lot of my friends have left, my close friends, over the past couple of years, who were on contract, who were pushed out. People go on about the fact that I had two more years on my contract, and that I'm walking out … some of my teammates who left had agreed to contracts and were pushed out. But that's OK? At the end of the day, the decision had to be made then and there, and I made it.''
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The ''handshake agreement'' that he maintains was made - which would have seen him stay with the club until the end of 2017 - was another reason. The five-eighth revealed he had told family, friends and teammates that he would be staying with the club until 2017 after that upgraded and extended deal was, in his eyes, agreed upon.
''I thought I was going to be here until 2017,'' he said. ''I'm celebrating with my mates about it two months ago. And because there was new management, they didn't make that deal, or know anything about that deal, so they couldn't honour that deal. But at the end of the day, I'm a big enough man about it to know that a decision had to be made.
''In the past, I've probably made decisions based upon what I thought what would make everyone else happy. For where I'm at now, and where my life is now, I've made this decision based upon what I thought was the best thing for me and my family. That's the first time that I've ever felt like I've made that decision for me.''
With interest from Super Rugby outfits the Waratahs, Melbourne Rebels and Auckland Blues, Marshall said he had no doubt that he could make the transition to the rival code ''with a lot of hard work, and a lot of attention''.
''I grew up playing it,'' Marshall said. ''I started when I was four. It won't be easy. It will definitely be hard. I watch rugby all the time - it's not like I haven't watched it. But getting out there and remembering positional plays is going to be the first thing.
''I feel like I can still offer a lot to rugby union, on and off the field. For where I'm at in my career, and where I'm at in my life … they reckon a change is as good as a holiday, but it's not going to be much of a holiday, because I'm going to have to work pretty hard.''
Marshall also denied vehemently that he had been motivated by money and greed.
''I made the decision without having a back-up option, or having a deal signed to go to any other club,'' he said. ''Effectively, at the end of this year, I don't have anywhere to go.
''That's the gamble. And that was a hard decision to make. So anyone who tries to say that this decision was about money is full of shit. I'm going to be getting less to play rugby, not more.
''I'm not a money-hungry, disloyal person with no integrity. If anything, I feel I'm the opposite.
''Until you know what sort of person I am, and know the story behind what's gone on, say what you like. But if it was about money, I would have left five years ago to go to Japan, when David Gallop stopped me.
''I wouldn't have taken pay-cuts all those years to help the club be under the cap.
''If it's about money, why would I do all those things? If it's about loyalty, why wouldn't have I have left five years ago, when I had offers from other clubs? Why wouldn't I have done that? Why wouldn't I just go now and play for another NRL club? Why wouldn't I just do that?
''Because that's not me, that's not the sort of person I am. It's more than that. I love the club. Out of respect for the fans of the club, the club, and my teammates, I won't play against them. And that's final. That's it. There's no other [NRL] club I want to play for. At the end of this year, my NRL days are over.''
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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/i-dont-regret-my-decision-benji-reveals-why-hes-going-20130717-2q4wn.html#ixzz2ZJOuXbZt
That change will see Marshall leave the Tigers at the end of this season, assuming club officials allow him a release from the last two years of his contract. Breaking his silence on the shock move, Marshall said he was excited about the prospect of a switch to rugby union while also devastated to be leaving his home for more than a decade.
That said: ''I don't regret my decision at all. Some people aren't going to be happy, but those people aren't living my life. I am.''
Asked why he had made the call to leave the club he helped to a premiership win in 2005, Marshall said: ''It's a combination of a lot of things. A lot of my friends have left, my close friends, over the past couple of years, who were on contract, who were pushed out. People go on about the fact that I had two more years on my contract, and that I'm walking out … some of my teammates who left had agreed to contracts and were pushed out. But that's OK? At the end of the day, the decision had to be made then and there, and I made it.''
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The ''handshake agreement'' that he maintains was made - which would have seen him stay with the club until the end of 2017 - was another reason. The five-eighth revealed he had told family, friends and teammates that he would be staying with the club until 2017 after that upgraded and extended deal was, in his eyes, agreed upon.
''I thought I was going to be here until 2017,'' he said. ''I'm celebrating with my mates about it two months ago. And because there was new management, they didn't make that deal, or know anything about that deal, so they couldn't honour that deal. But at the end of the day, I'm a big enough man about it to know that a decision had to be made.
''In the past, I've probably made decisions based upon what I thought what would make everyone else happy. For where I'm at now, and where my life is now, I've made this decision based upon what I thought was the best thing for me and my family. That's the first time that I've ever felt like I've made that decision for me.''
With interest from Super Rugby outfits the Waratahs, Melbourne Rebels and Auckland Blues, Marshall said he had no doubt that he could make the transition to the rival code ''with a lot of hard work, and a lot of attention''.
''I grew up playing it,'' Marshall said. ''I started when I was four. It won't be easy. It will definitely be hard. I watch rugby all the time - it's not like I haven't watched it. But getting out there and remembering positional plays is going to be the first thing.
''I feel like I can still offer a lot to rugby union, on and off the field. For where I'm at in my career, and where I'm at in my life … they reckon a change is as good as a holiday, but it's not going to be much of a holiday, because I'm going to have to work pretty hard.''
Marshall also denied vehemently that he had been motivated by money and greed.
''I made the decision without having a back-up option, or having a deal signed to go to any other club,'' he said. ''Effectively, at the end of this year, I don't have anywhere to go.
''That's the gamble. And that was a hard decision to make. So anyone who tries to say that this decision was about money is full of shit. I'm going to be getting less to play rugby, not more.
''I'm not a money-hungry, disloyal person with no integrity. If anything, I feel I'm the opposite.
''Until you know what sort of person I am, and know the story behind what's gone on, say what you like. But if it was about money, I would have left five years ago to go to Japan, when David Gallop stopped me.
''I wouldn't have taken pay-cuts all those years to help the club be under the cap.
''If it's about money, why would I do all those things? If it's about loyalty, why wouldn't have I have left five years ago, when I had offers from other clubs? Why wouldn't I have done that? Why wouldn't I just go now and play for another NRL club? Why wouldn't I just do that?
''Because that's not me, that's not the sort of person I am. It's more than that. I love the club. Out of respect for the fans of the club, the club, and my teammates, I won't play against them. And that's final. That's it. There's no other [NRL] club I want to play for. At the end of this year, my NRL days are over.''
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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/i-dont-regret-my-decision-benji-reveals-why-hes-going-20130717-2q4wn.html#ixzz2ZJOuXbZt
Phoenixtigers18
Member
He will be getting far less coin and channel 9 won't want a bar of him. Lets cut him some slack and hope the next 8 rounds are that good that it turns into 12 lol. The guy is loyal otherwise he would have went to another nrl club for way more money than rugby and still had his 9 contract
happy_tiger
Well-known member
Still can't understand why Tauber and Marshall aren't on the same page
We will never know the truth , but why Benji is worried about his mates for stuffs me
These blokes are supposed to be professionals and the salary cap keeps you from keeping teams together
In the end the writing was probably on the wall once Robbie was signed
We will never know the truth , but why Benji is worried about his mates for stuffs me
These blokes are supposed to be professionals and the salary cap keeps you from keeping teams together
In the end the writing was probably on the wall once Robbie was signed
tig_prmz
Well-known member
he's unemployed for next year- i dont get how that is good for his family as mtd says.
geeze even though he thinks he has poured his heart out in this article, but i still dont get what his plans are, what he wants and why he asked for a release. not that it matters to him, what i think but still wish him luck in whatever he does.
he looks better on the football field than off it. that's where he should be. he isn't doing us any favours by not playing for another club. he has no right to play for another clun until 2016\. because the deal he has with WT is actually ON PAPER.
he needs to stop worrying about what others think of him no matter what some random says on here or in the papers. play FOOTBALL ffs benji. thanks for the sponsors or taking pay cuts etc. but it all counts to ZILCH when u dont perform on the field.
geeze even though he thinks he has poured his heart out in this article, but i still dont get what his plans are, what he wants and why he asked for a release. not that it matters to him, what i think but still wish him luck in whatever he does.
he looks better on the football field than off it. that's where he should be. he isn't doing us any favours by not playing for another club. he has no right to play for another clun until 2016\. because the deal he has with WT is actually ON PAPER.
he needs to stop worrying about what others think of him no matter what some random says on here or in the papers. play FOOTBALL ffs benji. thanks for the sponsors or taking pay cuts etc. but it all counts to ZILCH when u dont perform on the field.
@wtigers said:
i have no idea, you tell me. never said it was a cash grabbing scheme, i just said that he's full of it.
any person in their right mind wouldn't walk away from 1.5 million for 2 years with no plan of action if they wanted to do 'the best thing for their family'.
what parts do we believe what parts don't we believe?
guyofthetiger
Well-known member
@tig_prmz said:
A shame he needs to justify himself like this. To Tigers fans especially. I hope also his last rounds are a fitting farewell. But that's probably a fairy tale. Hindmarsh can vouch for that. Ironically though, we're starting to form the forward pack he's not had the fortune to play behind for a while so there may be some opportunities for some classic Marshall magic. Either way, it will be missed but it was damn fine while it lasted.
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WestsSupporter
New member
Who else is eagerly (or cringingly) awaiting tomorrow's Footy Show sulk?
Chadman_s_Ghost
New member
Whatever reasons he gives at this point are not going to satisfy. People already have their opinion of him, and that's the right of every supporter to feel one way or another about the players at the club.
For mine, he's been the 2nd greatest thing to happen in Wests Tigers short history, right behind the guy we were so happy to see leave in the offseason- Tim Sheens. He made a team of misfits, unproven youngsters & aging vets suddenly look competitive, cohesive.
He brought people to the game. He made believers of the fans. We knew that if Benji was 'on', we were good for the day.
He made Wests Tigers an attractive place to play, or support.
He hasn't been as effective since Scott Prince left, we've seen glimpses, but never the best of him. He might never reach those heights again. But at 28, it's no surprise he isn't willing to believe he's not worth top dollar, even if the fans are convinced he isn't worth it. So it's almost inevitable that money would be a problem at some point. And it's not like melodrama hasn't been his best mate over the years. So that it ends ugly… isn't surprising. That he wants to have a shot at the club for releasing his mates over the last couple of years... isn't surprising.
It's a shame it ends like this. But that's life. That's footy. So be it. I hope he kills it at Union. I hope he gets paid. I'm sure he will. He'll be good for that game, like he was good for the NRL.
Now it's time to get excited about Sironen, Brooks, Sue, Woods etc. Footy moves on..
For mine, he's been the 2nd greatest thing to happen in Wests Tigers short history, right behind the guy we were so happy to see leave in the offseason- Tim Sheens. He made a team of misfits, unproven youngsters & aging vets suddenly look competitive, cohesive.
He brought people to the game. He made believers of the fans. We knew that if Benji was 'on', we were good for the day.
He made Wests Tigers an attractive place to play, or support.
He hasn't been as effective since Scott Prince left, we've seen glimpses, but never the best of him. He might never reach those heights again. But at 28, it's no surprise he isn't willing to believe he's not worth top dollar, even if the fans are convinced he isn't worth it. So it's almost inevitable that money would be a problem at some point. And it's not like melodrama hasn't been his best mate over the years. So that it ends ugly… isn't surprising. That he wants to have a shot at the club for releasing his mates over the last couple of years... isn't surprising.
It's a shame it ends like this. But that's life. That's footy. So be it. I hope he kills it at Union. I hope he gets paid. I'm sure he will. He'll be good for that game, like he was good for the NRL.
Now it's time to get excited about Sironen, Brooks, Sue, Woods etc. Footy moves on..
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