- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
As a child I poked and goaded a family friend’s beautifully-natured labrador until frustration and anger finally took over and it nipped me. When I cried to my mother she told me I was the author of my own misfortune and deserved the love bite.
It was an Aesop’s Fables moment – the annoying gnat received a wake-up call and vowed to take responsibility for his actions in the future, thankful the family pet was a dog and not a tiger.
I hope Benji Marshall’s tormentors have the same epiphany.
The West Tigers and Kiwi stand-off is not only the best player on the planet, he is a credit to his sport, his club and his countries of birth and residence.
I’ve met him just once – in December for a photo shoot to publicise the 2011 Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon, now into its 13th year of encouraging Aussie kids to get active in a fun and supportive environment. He was there at the request of Asics, an event sponsor.
It was one of Benji’s few days off as training ramped up in preparation for the new NRL season. But that didn’t worry him: “Hey, it’s for the kids,” he said, shrugging his reconstructed shoulders.
“What can we have you doing?” the Daily Telegraph photographer asked. “Anything mate, whatever makes the best shot,” Benji replied.
During the next hour Benji marshalled the group of eleven kids, aged between seven and fifteen, in a variety of activities to capture cool photographs – stretching, running, forward rolling, high-fiving.
Midway through the shoot a parent turned to me, stunned. “Are you hearing this? He’s calling all these kids by name. He knows their names already!”
When the photographer called for a shot with one of the kids on a bike it was Benji who politely pointed out the rider needed her helmet. What a dude!
When he finally sat down, he was approached for a photo – “No worries”. Then another. Then another. A queue formed, like going to sit on Santa’s knee at the local mall pre-Xmas. Parents wanted to get in the photographs with their children. Again “no problems”.
When the last request was fulfilled he went up to the photographer and shook the snapper’s hand in thanks. He did the same for the photo shoot coordinators. Then he quietly waved and headed to his car.
Oh, I forgot to mention, he drove himself to the event, arrived 20 minutes early and had read – and memorised – his briefing notes. He was unbelievably professional.
In an era where we hear so much about footy players behaving badly it was refreshing to meet a league legend at the other end of the scale.
Despite not knowing the full facts of the altercation that followed his latest fundraising effort for kids with cancer, Benji Marshall has my unequivocal support.
He is a labrador in tiger’s clothing. And the gnats would do society a favour by emulating him rather than bugging him.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.