Wests Tigers faction saw Benji Marshall as waste of money

Of course you're entitilled to your opinion Bug…doesn't change the FACT that Marshall is the playmaker that drives the footy team around the Park.......whether he has a 6 or 7 on his back...... Sheens has been building this team around Benji and Farah since Prince left....

Where in the article does Sheens say he had TOO MUCH RESPONSIBILTY.... simply for me it was the first year since '05 that he was injury free and got consistant footy in his legs and it showed at the back end of the season...give him more responsibility I say........

BTW....it's not just my thoughts I'll leave you with this....."If you go through the tapes, I was doing the same organising, the same job. If anything, the pressure of not being the halfback was off.''.........Benji Marshall....
 
@anderson silva said:
i think our late season success was more attributed to morris being moved out of the halves then benji moving back to 6
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Also the fact it was the first time he spent an entire season leading a team around the park…
 
@smeghead said:
The move to 7 with Morris at 6 made Marshall a better and more valuable player. This continued when he was provided a better attacking foil for the other side of the ruck
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Come on Smeg, I thought you were a better judge than that! Morris was a very good trier, who played above his weight all the time, but he had few skills to offer the attack! All the "move"(Remember they say going back to 6 did not change anything) did was bring Moltzen into the 7 role, where he was very good. Even Benji said moving from 7 to 6 took the pressure of being a halfback OFF HIM. If it did not change his role, how did the pressure come off?
 
The scariest thing imo was that Morris only got shifted AFTER he announced signing with Cronaulla.

When would Sheens have dumped him otherwise???
 
I think many of you misunderstand Smeg's point. He didnt say he rated Morris just that Morris' lack of organisational ability forced Benji to lift his game. Im not sure that I agree but this view at least has merit.

Benji's game didnt change at all after moving back to the 6\. Rather his execution improved.

Regardless, this article is talking about people who wanted Benji gone BEFORE the start of year BEFORE he was moved to half back. I am aware that this is true and the fact his many clowns on this forum wanted him gone as well. Of course Bug had to misinterpret the article to launch an attack on Sheens.
 
Defiant,

The club encouraged Morris to go to the Sharks and it is my understanding that he was effectively told his contract would not be renewed.

:wink:
 
@Geo. said:
Of course you're entitilled to your opinion Bug…doesn't change the FACT that Marshall is the playmaker that drives the footy team around the Park.......whether he has a 6 or 7 on his back...... Sheens has been building this team around Benji and Farah since Prince left....

Where in the article does Sheens say he had TOO MUCH RESPONSIBILTY.... simply for me it was the first year since '05 that he was injury free and got consistant footy in his legs and it showed at the back end of the season...give him more responsibility I say........

BTW....it's not just my thoughts I'll leave you with this....."If you go through the tapes, I was doing the same organising, the same job. If anything, the pressure of not being the halfback was off.''.........Benji Marshall....
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Geo, Benji is reading from an autocue with that comment mate. That is standard Fonz dribble. It is like when they made him and farah say to the media they supported the idea of Morris in the halves. What hogwash. Benji even said on the Footy show he prefers playing at 5/8 and when he gets the ball out a bit wider.

I can watch the tapes with you and I can show you that when he was at 7 he never had a chance to get the ball at third receiver like he does now. That is the difference. Sure there are times when he demands the ball first up with the 6 on his back but playing a halfback at halfback opens up Benji's game to its full potential. That is the point that I am trying to make. That is why before Moltzen shifted there I was begging the club to sign ANY 1st grade halfback because I knew it would take the prssure off and let Benji play at 6.
 
@dimitri said:
Do you not think that the Australian coach is playing mind games with Benji to put him off for the upcoming test?
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Well that is certainly what I think the article is about. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
I read this article this morning, but thought it was very interesting that nobody had posted this before. On the back page of the Tele it says:

"Sheens would not divulge which elements he was talking about, but it is known the **Western Suburbs side of the joint venture** did not want to retain Marshall as he eyed rugby deals in Europe and Japan"

Now this raises massive concerns about this side of the joint venture, particularly since it was reported that they were the reason that Noyce left, and were the side which pushed for Sheens, the Australian coach, to be punted this year as well whilst Longmuir was in charge. I think that in the end it was then who supported Longmuir and the others who thought he should be gone, and the result is potentially the best CEO we have had.

Is this a sign of the lacking business acumen mentioned earlier where one side wanted the biggest star, both on and off the field, out of the culb?
 
@smeghead said:
The move to 7 with Morris at 6 made Marshall a better and more valuable player. This continued when he was provided a better attacking foil for the other side of the ruck
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I agree 100% Benji playing 7 made him a better player. I see your point regarding Morris as the man outside him and u could be right, it may have made Benji take that extra responsibility, but i do wonder if he had Moltzen with him from the start, maybe his re'emergence would have happened a lot earlier. Guess we'll never know. The only thing we can say for sure is that his move to 7 was not a failure, as it has made him a much better player.
 
@southerntiger said:
I think many of you misunderstand Smeg's point. He didnt say he rated Morris just that Morris' lack of organisational ability forced Benji to lift his game. Im not sure that I agree but this view at least has merit.

Benji's game didnt change at all after moving back to the 6\. Rather his execution improved.

Regardless, this article is talking about people who wanted Benji gone BEFORE the start of year BEFORE he was moved to half back. I am aware that this is true and the fact his many clowns on this forum wanted him gone as well. Of course Bug had to misinterpret the article to launch an attack on Sheens.
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That post is spot on.
 
Its very strange this type of article ( if you can call it that ) would appear on the eve of the four nations? I know both Sheens and Benji are a big part of the Tournament but why the need for this to come out and why would Sheens talk about what happened at the start of the season at the Tigers seeing as he is in England for the Four Nations, also how have they kept a lid on this benji thing for so long? Unless I missed the gossip. It all just doesn't make sense to me!
 
@Glennb said:
@innsaneink said:
I agree with Sheens, but this is bollocks.

….........with Marshall looking to continue the white-hot form he displayed after moving from halfback to his customary role of five-eighth.
Yet Sheens said he only aborted the controversial positional change to douse media obsession with the move.
"I thought it would ease the pressure off our club," he said. "And it did - it got the media off our back."

We were 2nd freakin last. He moves marshall back to five eighth and we win 6 or 7 out of our last nine.
First it was ''so-called fans'' to blame for **his** mistake with Morris, now its media obsession instead of **his** own mistake with Marshall in 7.
Takes a man to admit youre wrong.

Not bollocks at all, only two things changed, the number on Marshalls back & Moltzen at 7.

Glenn
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Youre missing the point, which is who made way for Marshall & Moltzen.

Softlaw got it…as did Silva.

by softlaw » Fri 23 Oct, 2009 8:38 am
the media continue to talk about this as moving Marshall around, the Marshall experiment etc. etc.
The change of fortunes had very little to do with Benji it was <big>getting rid of Morris from the halves.</big>
Try as he might Morris in the halves meant Benji had to try too hard, had to do everything in the halves and was the only half that the opposition had to cover.
ie. Benji was very little chance of succeeding while Morris was the other half.
>
Also, other than ego I'm not sure why Sheens felt the need to air the clubs dirty linen about a 'secret faction who didn;t want Benji, but look I was right all along'.
 
@TheSunTanSuperman said:
The western suburbs side of the merger has done alot of idiotic things business wise.
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Like what ??

The Wests Group which makes up 50% of the joint venture includes two entities which run very profitable Leagues Clubs in Leumeah and Ashfield, and the 3rd partner of the Wests Group is the Magpies football side who have made the Semis for the last 2 years.

What idiotic things have they done business wise? I am racking my brain but can not think of one.

Now doesn't Balmain have the leagues Club that is losing about $30,000 a week as we speak ??

Hmmmm Idiotic businesses I hear you say ??

For the record, Benji has a great affiliation with Wests Ashfield and he has done some wonderful things for them and vice versa. I go to Wests Ashfield alot and always see Benji there having dinner etc.

The Fonz is on the outer and he is doing a cowardly act by trying to attack those brave enough who have tried to hold him accountable for making the semi's once since he got here.
 
Sheens is doing a lot of out of character things lately….talking about what he'll do and where he'll play Lote should we get him, but as recently as just before the semis and almost always as far as iI can recall, wouldnt be drawn into things by media that may or may not occur...and bringing up things bound to cause division within the JV....reminds me of his last days at NQ
 
I got to admit the comments from Sheens in press in the last few months have been very defensive. He is obviously quite worried about his position, not that I think he should be.
 
having long been critical of marshall in recent seasons, i can see their point and completely agree that he was a big liability and the club wouldve been better off without him.
even the first half of the season very little changed apart from an improved defence on his part.

having said that, as at the end of the season he had improved dramatically due to his execution as previously mentioned and i do feel that the second half of 09 has been a god send for him and the club in seeing a marked turning of the corner for him.
but lets not forget that up until the latter half of 09, way too many forward forays ended with a bad pass, bad kick or general horrible mistake by marshall that was killing our attack.
i said it at the time that i would hate to play outside him and felt bad for lawrence, etc.

still, i am happy to say that should he continue to play as he did at the end of 09 i have been proven wrong. and i do feel that 09 was a watershed year for him in finally becoming a great player.

and as i and others have said all along, we are very happy to be proven wrong…
 
Please spare us Coach 0 and 4 … to much talk and not enough action ! Maybe just maybe 2010 might see players actualy in there specialist positions. 0 and 4 coach more action thanks.
 
BB DO US ALL A FAVOUR AND CHANGE THE BROKEN RECORD.

I SAY TYPICAL BUG DRIBBLE.

Bug dont go causing a arguement over wests or balmain.

If you want a history lesson let me know.

Geo your Wests and i know you know what im talking about.

Short memory you have bug
 
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