Finally, after what seems like an age of waiting, the Benji Marshall of old returned to Leichhardt Oval on Friday night. Perhaps it was not the fine drop of the 2005 season, but at least a selection from the 2010 vintage.
The blistering pace, the slick passes, the sizzling sidestep and the ball on a string off the foot, they were all there for the Leichhardt crowd.
The only issue for the Tigers faithful was the old Benji Marshall was wearing the wrong jersey, playing under the guise of a young man named Shaun Johnson.
Johnson played the role of a young Marshall perfectly; the most creative Kiwi in the competition now the Tigers bane rather than one of their own.
Shaun Johnson is the NRL’s new New Zealand highlight reel: the beautiful touch to send a rampaging Suaia Matagi into space, the incredible speed to bolt around the outside of the Tigers defence, the crafty kick deftly deflected from the upright into the in-goal, take your pick.
Shaun Johnson showed us many things tonight, one of the most pertinent that New Zealand aren’t going to miss Benji Marshall at this year’s rugby league World Cup (link to http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/07/19/origin-over-time-for-rugby-leagues-true-pinnacle/).
With Johnson and Kieran Foran, the Kiwis have a halves pairing to carry them to two if not three World Cups and potentially one of their countries best six and seven combination on paper of all time.
This brings us around to the other establishment who aren’t going to miss Benji Marshall, the National Rugby League.
The door hasn’t even hit his arse on the way out yet and he has already been surpassed by Shaun Johnson as the pre-eminent New Zealand playmaker.
Ben Barba, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Akuila Uate and a host of others surpassed Benji as the players who bring fans through gates a long time ago.
The writing has been on the wall for Marshall as a draw for some time now and no matter what his manager tells us (in fact, something tells me he might have somewhat of a bias), no children will be lost to the game due to the exit of Benji.
Players come and players go but if there’s one thing I can guarantee, it’s that rugby league will always have another young player to go above and beyond what their predecessor produced.
So farewell Benji, it was good while it lasted, but if the performances of players like Shaun Johnson and the barnstorming Konrad Hurrell are anything to go by, you may have overstayed your welcome anyway.
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