BREAKING
Marshall relishing return and hungry for more against Eels
Author
Caitlyn Grant
Timestamp
Mon 20 Jul 2020, 07:00 PM

Wests Tigers halfback Benji Marshall says he’s relishing being back in the side and contributing to strong performances on the field… which is only making the veteran playmaker hungry for more.

Having started his first game on the weekend in over a month, Marshall says time spent working tirelessly at training session and doing extras to be at his peak performance for game day proved key — picking up three Dally M points en route to his side’s biggest victory in over a decade as they trounced the Broncos 48-0.

“When you get dropped — it’s not always about the why but what you do after it and come back from it," Marshall reflected.

“I wanted to work hard and push my case every day at training.

"All the things that Madge wanted me to be better at, I worked really hard and got a reward on the weekend.

“It’s one of those things that you have standards within the team – if you don’t live up to the standard then the Coach does something about it and you’ve just to get back on top of it. It doesn’t mean you’re the worst player in the team — you’ve just got to get back to what you do well."

Marshall’s performance on the weekend where he scored a try and set up two others was proof of that renewed determination.

“You look at all the things you do well and all the things you need to work on," he reflected.

"I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me. You go back and find a bit of hunger,.

“Every day at training you’ve got to prove yourself again and I thought I found something in those four weeks in me that I needed to bring that out on the weekend. All it takes is one bad performance and anyone could be in the same spot. You need to pull out every weekend.

"I found more hunger than I had before. My defence wasn’t good enough and Madge made that pretty clear [so] I went back and worked on that.

“It’s what it’s about in professional rugby league," he added.

"If you don’t turn up on the day with the right attitude then you won’t get the result you want. We have to turn up ready to play on the weekend.”

I love this guy! At 35 years of age and achieved what he has in the game, he has every right to just give it all away and retire gracefully, or at the very least pull back on doing the hard yards and become more of a mentor rather than a player, but not Benji.

He is still pushing himself to become the best he can be, he worked his way back into first grade after being dropped and made an immediate difference to the team that was floundering against Souths and then played a vital role in steering the team to a great victory the other night.

His enthusiasm for the Tigers and the game in general puts many younger players attitudes to shame. There is no doubting his influence on the team, he sets a great example. Benji is the true leader out there, Mbye is captain in name only.

Someone get @851 a Valium

Love his attitude and work ethic. Sets a great example for everyone at the club.

I’m so glad he can finish his career where he belongs and in good form, I’d love nothing more than to watch him have a blinder against the slime and guide us to a big win

I hope that Brooks takes a leaf out of Benjis book…and learns from it…

He kept it so tight on Friday and played a real 7.

@mike said in Marshall relishing retur.....:

Someone get @851 a Valium

I am happy for him to have more this year, but I am 100% against him playing next year.
I said in the game thread after his first 3 kicks, which were awful, he had a good game, Walters went very well also, Brooks was a waste of a bench spot, but I am ok with Benji for 2020, but on field ends there, he can offer plenty off field in 2021.

@TrueTiger said in Marshall relishing retur.....:

I hope that Brooks takes a leaf out of Benjis book…and learns from it…

I reckon this might be a subtle message to a Brooks. Brooks doesn’t have Marshall’s maturity yet and might be sulking a bit (just a guess). Benji might be telling him to accept what happened an do whatever it takes to be the best he can be

Sure he played good, but let’s be real Kyle Lovett would have had a field day playing against that Brisbane team. Club legend, absolutely love him to death as a footy player but let’s see if he can play like that against a quality Parra outfit.

Us WT fans eat these articles up. I swear I saw the same article in 2018 and 2019.

The Benji trend!

Gets dropped or scathing article comes out → Works way back into team → Plays well on return → Continues to play well for 2-3 weeks → Form gradually dips → REPEAT

It’s like as soon as he gets comfortable he switches off. Perhaps Madge should threaten to drop him every game.

@Kazoo-Kid said in Marshall relishing retur.....:

Us WT fans eat these articles up. I swear I saw the same article in 2018 and 2019.

The Benji trend!

Gets dropped or scathing article comes out → Works way back into team → Plays well on return → Continues to play well for 2-3 weeks → Form gradually dips → REPEAT

It’s like as soon as he gets comfortable he switches off. Perhaps Madge should threaten to drop him every game.

Totally agree. He can be a great player, and really gave the team the direction against the Broncos that we’d lacked so badly. Unfortunately you just know based on past performance that it’s inevitable his form will slide again. I’d like to think it’s different this time, especially after such a complete performance last week, but somehow I know that isn’t going to be the case for long.

It baffles me why he gets so much praise. All the rubbish is swept under the carpet. Sure he does some good things, but man he dishes up some ordinary stuff too. I don’t think I can take another year of him playing. We have options now. It’s time.

@851 said in Marshall relishing retur.....:

@mike said in Marshall relishing retur.....:

Someone get @851 a Valium

I am happy for him to have more this year, but I am 100% against him playing next year.
I said in the game thread after his first 3 kicks, which were awful, he had a good game, Walters went very well also, Brooks was a waste of a bench spot, but I am ok with Benji for 2020, but on field ends there, he can offer plenty off field in 2021.

The Mole: Benji set for new Wests Tigers deal

A month ago, it looked like Tigers legend Benji Marshall would hang up his boots at year’s end or move to England to finish his career.

But after his dynamic return to the starting side against the Broncos last week, Marshall, who turns 36 next February, is in the firing line for a new deal at the Tigers.

The veteran playmaker turned back the clock, showing all his old spark and touches of brilliance to give coach Michael Maguire plenty to think about.

In a commanding display, Benji shone against the busted Broncos, scoring a try, producing a try assist, a 40-20, two line break assists and making 15 tackles without a miss.

Maguire has been tinkering with his halves all season - and Benji showed enough to put his hand up for a 19th season in the NRL.