Before Benji Marshall, the Wests Tigers was a team of journeymen, thugs and stars well past their prime. Nobody could have predicted what was going to happen once the mesmerising talent of Marshall began to emerge.
Without Marshall only god knows where the joint-venture club would be today.
There were players like Scott Prince, Brett Hodgson and Robbie Farah, but none of them had the star power of the hot-stepping young touch footy player from Whakatane.
No one person can lay claim to that remarkable 2005 premiership alone, but Benji would be closest. The free spirit and sheer enjoyment of bamboozling opponents and entertaining the masses made Benji more than just another five-eighth. He became the face of a new generation of not just Tigers fans but rugby league fans.
As the on-field accolades rolled in, his fame shot through the roof and made the Tigers hot property. His club’s rise came at his expense though, and as the injuries piled up the pressure mounted too.
Salary cap pressure (or homesickness) squeezed Prince out of the club and into the gleeful hands of the Gold Coast Titans, Hodgson headed to England well before his time and the core of the squad – guys like Anthony Laffranchi, Pat Richards and Bronson Harrison – couldn’t turn down lucrative offers to play elsewhere.
The more players left, the more pressure was heaped on Marshall. Something eventually had to give, and last year and the unthinkable happened. Benji left the Tigers for a new adventure in rugby union with the Auckland Blues.
We all know how that worked out, but you can’t knock him for trying something different. It was a gutsy move considering his place in rugby league and his age, to try an entirely different sport and put his name on the line. It takes a certain kind of sportsman to do that. Just look at Michael Jordan’s ill-fated switch from the Chicago Bulls basketball team to baseball’s White Sox.
But now Marshall is back and for the very first time this Sunday he comes up against his old club.
This weekend he’ll don the Red V and face Wests at ANZ Stadium, the very place where his team celebrated the 2005 grand final victory over the North Queensland Cowboys.
It will be an odd experience for the veteran pivot. He goes up against the new breed of Tiger that’s set to push Wests into its next boom period. When Marshall first heard the names Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses, Benji was King Tiger and Brooks and Moses were a passing comment, these “gun kids in the juniors”. No need for a second thought, that was years away.
Yet here we are, days away from Wests Tigers versus Benji Marshall.
While many of the faces across from him on Sunday have changed, the throng of people in the stands have stayed the same. If you are a Wests fan you can still recall where you were the moment Marshall flicked that ball to Richards in the 2005 decider and you can probably rattle off 20 other unforgettable Marshall plays.
Rugby league fans pay their money to get through the gates and they should be able to support or boo whomever they please. But this Sunday has to be different, and it will be interesting to see how Wests fans respond to the bloke who put their club on the map.
If you want to boo then boo, but it won’t be the same as booing your most despised players.
We will see the very best of Marshall and the very worst of Marshall this weekend, that’s just how he plays. The best we can do is cheer for the good plays and cheer for the bad, whether you’re a Tiger or a Dragon.
Charles NSW
Guest
Benji Marshall deserves the utmost repect to what he has achived in the game. I hope he has a blinder against the Tigers!
tigerdave
Guest
well said Will in bith blogs. He was wearing his welcome out at the end of his stint there, but the club owes a debt of gratitude. As for the cheering...I don think so. Pasionat fans cheer for their team, appreciate the great game layed by opponents, but cheer......I'll back that out.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
"I’d be a little surprised and disappointed if he were to get booed on the weekend. I like to think Tigers’ fans are a little better than that." I would have agreed... but after hearing the reception Scott Prince (another who provided so many great memories for Tigers fans) received on his return to Leichhardt, I am not so sure. I would hope all Tigers fans will cheer Benji or, at the very least, not boo him. But it remains to be seen.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
I really agree Curtis. The Tigers owe Marshall everything, and I for one could never boo him. No matter what happens in the future, Benji Marshall is a true Tigers legend.
Tobias Zulaikha
Roar Rookie
Nicely written Curtis. A respectful article to one of Wests Tigers favourite sons. The joint venture club were only a couple of seasons in before the arrival of a young Benji, who largely helped elevate the club's image from absolute basket-case to one of growing credibility. As you wrote, "Without Marshall only god knows where the joint-venture club would be today." He has since moved on and so have the Tigers - which looks to have benefitted both parties - for the Tigers were able to retain their young talent coming through whilst Benji would be the first admit he'd gone stale and a new environment at a new club was probably the shot in the arm he needed. I'd be a little surprised and disappointed if he were to get booed on the weekend. I like to think Tigers' fans are a little better than that.
tigerdave
Guest
Excuse us if we don't welcome him with open arms. His last season with the Tigers was disgraceful, mainly due to attitude. There is no doubt Benji did wonders for a struggling club, and he pulled many kids into the game. He sold countless dollars in merchandising for the club and the NRL. Benji certainly was a favourite and the Tigers need to be thankful to him for his input into the success of the club. We also need to be thankful that he moved on. Paying his salary under the cap would have made it impossible to keep our kids. The Tigers certainly benefited at both end of his tenure there. We got the best playing years of his life and we were lucky he moved on when he did. We wish Benji nothing but success with the big red V, not too much this weekend though, and for the rest of his playing years. He is obviously enjoying his footy now, and in my view, has diamonds and coal type of game. His defence is still shocking particularly reading the defensive line and making good decisions. His attack is getting better, some brilliant some plain. Boo Benji, no way, we need to applaud him for helping us keep our kids.