Wests Tigers must do the right thing and let Benji Marshall leave, especially given the optimism surrounding the club’s halfback-in-waiting, Luke Brooks.
Ian Schubert’s absurd intransigence with regard to the second-tier cap is the only thing keeping Brooks from the NRL right now.
Yes, I’d love to keep a marquee player like Marshall in the comp but any self-respecting Tigers fan has to admit that there is no basis for resigning Benji for four more years, certainly not at an inflated price.
The Tiggies have a good young core. James Tedesco will be good, provided he can stay healthy. Morike Koribete could be effective with one arm, and he may have to be, having suffered one of the most sickening injuries I’ve seen in rugby league.
Curtis Sironen will be an excellent ballplaying backrower, think Glenn Stewart but with greater speed and power.
Aaron Woods is a good first-grader who will continue to provide value and of course Joel Reddy is a dominant force out wide. One of the preceding statements is a lie.
Beyond all of that, the Tigers also need to fear further merging/relocation.
Crowds have been pathetic, the club’s early poor form notwithstanding.
Which brings me to Manly, though I’m not sure why.
The Eagles’ inability to score points has me intrigued, and I think it’s due to confluence of events. First and foremost is the coach.
Geoff Toovey has done the right thing up ’til now, essentially coming in and getting out of the way at the same time.
But Manly have done very little differently in several years while other clubs have gotten better (Roosters, Rabbitohs, Bulldogs, Sharks). Toovey must begin to innovate.
The loss of Kieran Foran on Monday night hurt Manly, but I was surprised at how poorly the Eagles reformed in attack once they regained possession.
It’s become clear that the clubs best able to put together some structure in the first three plays of the set will be streets ahead of their opponents. NSW struggled with this (full credit to Queensland’s swarming defence) in Origin two and Manly have been dealing with it all year.
Opposition defences are just too good now, another reason for further limiting interchange (six would be my number). Clubs that burn three or four plays on one-out runs will have trouble scoring through the hands, which leaves the bomb or restarts from dropouts.
But as we saw on Monday with Manly, even repeat sets won’t be effective if the defence only has to worry about last tackle.
It’s up to the 6, 7 and 9 of each team to organise their players to stretch and warp the defensive line repeatedly during a set with spreads and plays involving multiple ball runners.
The offload is critical early in the count and is being ignored by many teams to the detriment of their ability to score points.
Finally, an idea on how the NRL can keep Sonny Bill Williams in our game. Pay him five million a year and put him on a rotation, whereby he plays for a different club each week. Can you imagine the impact on crowds?
The man has gone beyond just one club or one position.
At semifinal time he picks a team out of hat each week. But the best part is the GF. On that day, he plays a half for each side. A coin toss dictates which team gets him first.
Dave Smith, make it happen.
Tigers in Ten Years
Guest
"Goodbye Wests..." "Goodbye Benji..." You are an insidious rodent.
peterlala
Guest
seven cents worth
Devout Saint
Guest
I think Manly's attack has looked too flat for a long time now. They obviously are not the same team without Brett Stewart either.
Davies
Guest
seven dollers worth, "SBW is just a mass media hype", I strongly disagree with that. SBW actually lives up to the hype.Statistics compiled by Sports Data reveal SBW is the most influential forward in the NRL and one of the game's leading players. He can do things other players aren't capable of doing.He does things that win matches and makes fans marvel more than anyone else.
seven dollers worth
Guest
Benji changed when SBW came back onto the scene. So much jelousy. SBW has all the media attention and is being hailed the hero for the roosters great performance this year. It must be hard for Benji to take a back seat now that SBW is the hero.
damoinaus
Roar Pro
I couldn't believe Benji on the Footy Show last night saying he categorically and absolutely would never play for another club out of 'respect' for the Tigers. The audience clapped, but it all seemed so forced. I was cringing inside. The reality is, players move clubs all the time, it doesn't mean they're less passionate or love league any less. I don't know why Marshall thinks he's above the game. Marshall should take a leaf out of Lance Thompson's book. He took paycuts to stay with the Dragons, but always looked like he'd be a one club man. In the end, he finished his career at the Sharks. An unpleasant situation, but he was full of grace throughout. Benji seems bitter and washed up. If he was the best in the game, or even the best at the Tigers - maybe he could make the crazy demands that he is currently making. Truth is - he's not as good as he used to be and will never recapture his 2005 form ever again.
seven dollers worth
Guest
Out with the old and in with new young talent. Nodody will miss Benji or SBW. Its really bizzare that Benji would assume he is worth so much money, considering he hasnt done anything for the Tigers and he is getting to old . SBW is just a mass media hype, much like the hype over Willie Mason many years ago.
The eye
Guest
In the big picture,stating the bleeding obvious,doesn't matter how Manly are playing or any other side for that matter because this is Souths' year.How can the rest of the pack beat them ? They got the painful semi experience under the belt,fantastic spine,a Storm like resolve and are just too big and fast.The rest of the mob are playing for second,and I'd rather my side slip out early than endure that misery...so,yeah,they may have an easier run but looks like 2012 all over again for Tooves.
maximillian
Guest
The Tigers should try to keep Benji but only up to a certain point. The money he is asking for is ridiculous & he isnt worth it. When you add to that the young halves coming through at the Tigers, why pay overs for a player at the backend of his career that is looking for a 4 year deal? Rugby League is a business & clubs need to make tough decisions under the limitations of the salary cap so Id be inclined to cut Benji at the terms he is asking for.
The Spectator
Roar Guru
The draw may just help the eagles givin there lack of fluency, they now have an easier run home to fine tune the attack, Manlys form slump is at the right time of year as long as we are in or in touch with the top 4 a spark of confidence and who knows. MG is right though about Manlys attack looks like that of 2011 because it is, I fear Toov's is relying on the players brilliance to supply the attack. The jury is still out on Toove's but I have my suspicions.
eagleJack
Guest
It's a fair observation about Manly's attack. It has looked flat, disjointed and ineffective for a number of weeks now. Tooves and Arthur certainly need to get back to the drawing board there. But having said that its no surprise their recent slump coincided with the loss of Brett Stewart. You take the attacking focal point from the back out of any team (Barba, Inglis, Hayne, Slater etc) and that team will invariably struggle. Manly's win/loss ratio without Stewart there since 2007 doesn't make for pleasant reading. It has also come during a tough period of matches. Roosters twice, Storm, Bulldogs, Warriors have all been in good form of late. The positive is that Manly's defensive structure has kept them in every match and they have had opportunities to steal victory. The next 5 weeks sees an "easier" run where they should hopefully score some points. They play the Eels twice, Tigers, Titans and Cowboys (ex Thurston/Origin stars). With Foran and Stewart on deck we should hopefully see a smoother attack.
enrico
Guest
Benji is a proven champion with many good years in him. It's great to have promising young players but often they dont live up to the hype in first grade. could they offload blair to the eels to make some headroom? i think they should try a little harder! He brings so much to the tigers. whatever they think they will save without him they will loose x 10 in gate receipts/merchandise/media exposure.
oikee
Guest
Manly are old and stale, in attack and defence. They slow the game down to a crawl and every team knows their attacking plays. Out to Lyon, flick to the winger. As for young Luke Brooks, watched him the other day, this kid is a pure footballer, the Tigers would do well to hang onto him, but at the expence of Benji, no. Benji has been so loyal to this club, and if the Tigers lost him, i think they would lose part of their soul. They should let Broooks go to another club if they cant keep him. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing, well the right thing for the Tigers now is to hang onto Benji. Nobody expected the Broncos to win a grand final in Lockyers last years, they were just happy to see him go out on a high.