WIZ: Superstars in the wars an amazing entree to NRL season
Columnist By Gary Freeman, 1 Mar 2013
- Tagged:
- Ben Barba, Benji Marshall, Newcastle Knights, NRL, Rugby League, Stephen Kearney
Benji Marshall in action. AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay
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Wow, what a hectic week for rugby league, with two of the game’s superstars in the news for extraordinary reasons.
I refer to Ben Barba and Benji Marshall and to be honest, I’d prefer to be singing their praises rather than making a comment on what has transpired.
The Barba stuff is tragic. No-one wants to see a young man with the world at his feet go off the rails in both his personal and professional sporting life.
But his story, at least major parts of it, is well and truly in the public domain and it’s great to see such responsible and immediate action from Bulldogs boss Todd Greenberg, the Canterbury Board and coach Des Hasler.
I thought the Bulldogs’ actions were a great tick for the club which puts its athletes’ needs above the primary aim of success on the footy field.
They suspended the star fullback and announced publicly that he was ill and needed specialist outside help to tackle and hopefully beat his problems.
Canterbury – and I am positive that all NRL clubs would react in pretty much the same way – are trying to show wayward footballers who go off the road that there is an avenue for them to get themselves right and hopefully get back to the game that is their profession.
I feel for these young players whose star can rise virtually overnight.
They become media and public darlings and temptations seem to come from all angles. Some players fall to those temptations, others are able to walk away.
I don’t know young Barba and I cannot hazard a guess as to if or when we will see him back playing football for the Bulldogs.
But when your club stands you down for two months at the very start of the season, you just know things are grim. This guy has some major demons to conquer and I wish him every success in his endeavours.
Benji Marshall, as everyone probably knows by now, was stood down as the New Zealand captain by coach Steve Kearney.
As far as I know he didn’t do anything wrong, but to me this is a serious course of action taken by a coach at the top of a World Cup year.
We are told that another Kiwi captain will be appointed as early as today. Simon Mannering is the logical tip and I am sure that he will do a fine job.
According to Kearney, Marshall was relieved of the captaincy burden so he could concentrate fully on his own game and not worry so much about all of the pressures that go with the captaincy, particularly the media duties.
I was a proud Kiwi captain myself on 19 occasions and if you asked me if the media stuff had a bearing on me I’d have to say ‘absolutely.’
You have to ‘perform’ well for the media as well as a footballer on the park. It can weigh you down.
Marshall didn’t see it coming and has talked publicly about his disappointment at losing the honour.
I may be wrong but deep down, I have a suspicion that some of the senior players in the Kiwi line-up were somehow behind the move to dump Benji as skipper.
We may never know; coach Kearney will always insist it was solely his idea.
I cannot predict if it will have a good or bad effect on Marshall’s game; time will tell in the months ahead. I reckon ‘Benji Marshall Watch’ will be one of the most interesting aspects of the 2013 season.
On a completely different subject, I don’t mind the new NRL commercial featuring Australian star Jessica Mauboy on vocals.
But it’s another howler from League HQ that saw the Newcastle Knights left out completely.
The person or persons responsible should be held accountable.
It’s a 16-team comp fellas. Promote all clubs or risk alienation from one at the very grassroots.
Gary 'Wiz' Freeman is one of the great halfbacks in New Zealand rugby league history. Now an outspoken and popular media personality, he joined The Roar in 2012 as an expert rugby league columnist, and continues in 2013.
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- Explore:
- Ben Barba, Benji Marshall, Newcastle Knights, NRL, Rugby League, Stephen Kearney
March 1st 2013 @ 6:46am
Steve said | March 1st 2013 @ 6:46am | Report comment
Kearney is a bit of a Tool, we all saw that when he was at Parramatta. Benji should just tell them all to shove it, and just concentrate on the Tigers. When ya get Shafted by your country, why would you go back?
March 1st 2013 @ 6:54am
Andy said | March 1st 2013 @ 6:54am | Report comment
Taking the captaincy away from Marshall is basically putting him on notice. They may be looking at some changes to the halves in the future perhaps.
March 1st 2013 @ 8:33am
Johnno said | March 1st 2013 @ 8:33am | Report comment
Simon Mannering is a very good captain a natural leader, he is a much better captain than Benji marshall in my opinion, based on what i have seen. He is very calm and level headed, Benji Marshall I am sure is too, I just reckon Mannering is better from what i have seen, and i;m sure the senior players had some say in the matter for a big change like this, there is more to this story than any are leading on, and that includes Benji Marshall.
If Roy Asotasi gets his spot back he will push hard to be the back up captian a good captain too.
March 1st 2013 @ 9:11am
oikee said | March 1st 2013 @ 9:11am | Report comment
Benji can now focus on his own game. Simon is the new captain and i think that is a good choice. A second rower who is on the field for the whole game is what is needed. Benji can just do his thing without worrying about everyone else.
Masterstroke by Kearney.
One thing in rugby league’s favour with Benny Barba, it has brought the issue and how and what to do, ‘deal with the problems’, into the spotlight.
This is going to become a major issue if we dont create a system to start dealing with these problems now.
The Players are getting younger and younger, superstars are now hitting the screans earlier. Barba, Papalii, Shrieck and many more.
They need to identify this and put in place earlier ‘life courses’ and how to deal with becoming a star.
We dont want to throw these kids to the wolves, and that is all they are, kids.
So this issue is real, i know it is real. It is really hard to change the way some young kids act, or wish to act.
Todd Carney should be our model example of how hard it is to mature or change some young guys behaviour.
Cheers.
March 1st 2013 @ 9:26am
Pot Stirrer said | March 1st 2013 @ 9:26am | Report comment
Lets cut the crap about Barba. If he was an average player he would have been cut and forgotten about.
As for Marshall, I think hes a prima donna and been living of his media profile for the last 5 years. His footy is a means to keep his media profile up thier. He is more interested in being a celebrity than anything else.
March 1st 2013 @ 11:10am
oikee said | March 1st 2013 @ 11:10am | Report comment
Fair enough, but it is only when a high profile player suffers that we seem to react.
Ben Barba is helping the lessor knows by being a high profile player with problems. You are right, we would not act if it was just a reserve grade dude.
This is the start of a change of attitude. The game is climbing on board to make changes, we all need to highlight this while it is out in the open.
Most of my posts have been about the importance of setting up player welfare modules to help the kids, younger players into the fishbowl.
So yes Pot Stirrer, you are right, but prima donna or not, good has to come from this, and this is the start of a younger players game.
Action needs to start now so we dont see these guys trip or stumble, and then become prey of a ever ready audience, ready to pounch, just like a spider hey Pot Stirrer.
March 1st 2013 @ 11:44am
Pot Stirrer said | March 1st 2013 @ 11:44am | Report comment
Oikee, i think clubs already have player edcation programs about gambng and substance abuse but at the end of the day its the individuals responsibilty. You cant go swimming with sharks and then complain whenyou get bitten. If your in the lunchbowl your on the menu. Also i wasnt saying Barba was a prima donna just Marshall.
March 1st 2013 @ 12:03pm
oikee said | March 1st 2013 @ 12:03pm | Report comment
Sorry, yes i made a mistake. I thought you said Barba. Sorry mate, my blew.
March 1st 2013 @ 12:35pm
Col Quinn said | March 1st 2013 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
Your evidence?
March 1st 2013 @ 12:45pm
Pot Stirrer said | March 1st 2013 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
the footy show
March 1st 2013 @ 10:20am
Gary Russell-Sharam said | March 1st 2013 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Marshall looks to be a bloke that drinks his own bathwater, or at least he gives that impression. As far as his football ability, in recent years he has become very sporadic in his play, where once he was a full eighty minute player he now only plays in snatches, there is considerable time spent not being in the game.
Don’t get me wrong when he injects himself into the game he is a match winner but over the last few years that injection has become less frequent.
Simon Mannering is the logical choice to be the captain he is involved for the full eighty minutes and looks to be a smart intelligent bloke that battles hard for the team and can be a role model for others to follow.
On Barba, I am puzzled by the media slant that we should all feel sorry for the man as reported that his partner and he had broken up and the intonation was that that was the catalyst that led to this break down leading to gambling and drink.
Then there is the undercurrent story that his partner and he broke up because of his gambling and drinking (that may explain him being seen out with a new girlfriend recently) so this puts a different slant on the story.
Add to the fact that his club has suspended him for behaviour that is not approved of leads me to favour that second scenario. That being the case I see this as another young bloke being a goose.
I applaud the action of the club in instigating this action but spare me the diatribe of offerings from other players who feel deep sympathy for him and hope he gets better soon, as if he is in hospital suffering from a disease.
The kid needs to get his head together and that’s why Canterbury has taken the action of suspending him ( I note that his actions are not described by the club).
I hope that he does get his stuff together and comes back to play the game, but to me it’s not the be all and end all. I’m a bit over young blokes behaving badly and everyone feeling sorry for them. Part of growing up is taking responsibility for your actions, just ask the best dodger of doing that “Carney”. Only after countless chances and heaps of money wasted he seems to be growing up (I hope)
March 1st 2013 @ 10:39am
Bazzio said | March 1st 2013 @ 10:39am | Report comment
Axed coach axes captain.
Kearney is showing why Parra unceremoniously dumped him ~ his tact & player amicability is zero minus. Consultation with players as to coaching & team ideas goes a long way toward cementing a cohesive and contributive playing group. Not so with “my way or the highway” Kearney . . . . .god of low performace, lord of all he speaks down to, master of poor results.
That being said, Benji is better suited to freestyle playmaker than captain of structured play.
Newcastle Knights left out completely ~ does the NRL know something we’re yet to find out, a little bell Tink-ling?
March 1st 2013 @ 11:13am
oikee said | March 1st 2013 @ 11:13am | Report comment
As long as your ready to eat your own words if the Kiwis win this years world cup, i agree with you.
I happen to rate Kearney. I like the fact Benji has this pressure off him.
A free Benji is a dangerous Benji.
Benji over the last couple of years has looked anything but a world cup winner.
March 1st 2013 @ 1:48pm
Harry M said | March 1st 2013 @ 1:48pm | Report comment
Extraordinary. SBWs contract not ratified and the NRL radio rights still unclear
http://afr.com/p/business/companies/nrl_radio_contracts_unsigned_pfcvNNDx176FSMnGS9mjDL
March 1st 2013 @ 1:22pm
terry said | March 1st 2013 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
Let he who is without fault cast the first stone
March 1st 2013 @ 1:52pm
Bondy said | March 1st 2013 @ 1:52pm | Report comment
I was only reflecting recently the life of pro athletes is not what its made out to be and I think most people in society see it that way now, instead of an image of rich athletic men doing whatever they choose.
Good luck to Ben and the Bulldogs professionalism has shown through here on all fronts.
March 1st 2013 @ 3:32pm
Noel said | March 1st 2013 @ 3:32pm | Report comment
Worthy comments on both counts , at last a comment with a positive outlook but still saying it like it is. Too many times comment is made to create interest by emphasising the inflamatory side of things alone . My complements to the author , keep up the good work .