Benji Marshall has been named on the Wests Tigers bench for Friday nights game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs with Liam Fulton taking his place at five-eigth. It comes at a very interest time in Marshall’s career.
At 28 years of age, these should be Benji Marshall’s best years. This should be the time when he makes his big impact on the games history.
Instead, Marshall finds himself terribly out of form and on a Wests Tigers team that doesn’t just need changes, but one that needs a completey rebuild of their line up. It is not the situation any star player would want to find themselves in. It doesn’t really matter how well Benji Marshall plays in this Wests Tigers team, they are not going to achieve anything, and I have no doubt that reality has a huge baring on Marshall’s form right now.
While Benji Marshall may be out of form right now, he still has the ability to be the best player in the Wests Tigers side. When he is in form, you’re hard pressed to find a better player in the entire world! Even with this Wests Tigers lineup, which I don’t rate at all, he could still win a game on his own.
I don’t see any benifit in dropping Benji Marshall at all. To me it smacks of a coach that is in way over his head. One who thinks that is what a better coach would do to an out of form star player.
Is Liam Faulton a better option at five-eigth than Benji Marshall? Of course not!
Will Benji Marshall play most of the game after coming in off the bench? Yes!
So what does Michael Potter achieve by dropping Marshall? Nothing!
Benji Marshall won’t become a better player by sitting on the bench for the first 15 minutes of Friday nights game on the bench. When he runs on the field he will once again be playing in a side that is being dominated right up the middle of the field. A side where the only other dangerous player in the side if hooker Robbie Farah. Nothing at all will have changed because Benji Marshall starts the game from the bench.
If Marshall does start the game, the Rabbitohs will have prepared to face him all week anyway. So its not as though Marshall starting the game will blow the Bunnies away and put them off their game. That just doesn’t happen any more.
So congratulations to Michael Potter for dropping Benji Marshall. Maybe he can hook Robbie Farah during a crucial moment in the game and just double on his his coaching master moves…
