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Strange times for Tigers fans

22nd October, 2016
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Benji Marshall at the Tigers wasn't as long ago as it feels. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)
Roar Guru
22nd October, 2016
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Benji Marshall’s announcement of his move to the Broncos has culminated a strange season for Wests Tigers fans.

Despite a couple of impressive games in the buildup to the finals season, the overwhelming atmosphere at the club has been one of departure.

Of course, that feeling is largely attributable to Robbie Farah’s move for the Rabbitohs.

As much as Tigers fans have loved to debate about the relative merits of Farah and Jason Taylor over the last couple of years, I don’t think any of us really believed that either would ever leave.

The fact that it coincided with such a dramatic loss to the Raiders at Leichhardt Oval made it all the more painful.

At the same time, Josh Ado-Carr’s move to the Storm just as he was starting to find his form has been a blow.

One of the great fears of every Wests Tigers fan is that the club won’t be able to hold onto the young guns that they incubate, and Ado-Carr’s departure has caused a lot of unease about whether Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks or even James Tedesco might be next.

Add to that Dene Halatau’s retirement and there’s even more riding on Moses, Brooks and Tedesco to make it as the NRL’s next Big Three.

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Still, it’s Benji’s move to the Broncos that has affected me the most, which is strange, given that he hasn’t played for the club since 2013.

In part, that has to be about the Broncos.

It would be one thing if any of these departing players had signed with other Western Sydney teams.

But the fact that they have gone to the Bunnies, the Storm and now the Broncos – all marquee teams and all in other catchment areas – just makes them feel even more remote from the Wests Tigers orbit.

In a weird way, Benji still felt recognisable at the Dragons, just because St George-Illawarra have experienced some of the same struggles as the Tigers over the last couple of years.

Given that Benji’s tenure with the Red V followed on from his underwhelming stint with the Auckland Blues, it also felt like an aberration, both to Tigers fans and NRL fans at large.

Despite all the controversy, however, his move to the Broncos feels more decisive.

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As incredulous as fans might be, none of us can really doubt that Wayne Bennett must have a place for him – after all, there’s no coach in the game with better foresight.

For all those reasons, Benji’s move to Suncorp makes his departure from the Tigers suddenly feel more final and decisive.

Given how much Benji’s form spearheaded speculations about opening up Origin to internationals, there’s also something strange about seeing him playing in the Maroons heartland.

But perhaps his movement hits me mostly because, in the wake of Robbie, Halatau and Ado-Carr, the Tigers need Benji more than ever.

Sure, they don’t necessarily need his form on the field, but they need the continuity with the past and the pride in the combined Wests Tigers outfit that he once represented.

The Wests Tigers gained a new legitimacy with the 2005 win, but for the first time it feels as if we can’t really hang on to that any more.

Instead, with Robbie at Souths, Benji at Brisbane and Halatau hanging up the boots, it feels as if the team has finally and decisively reached its second generation.

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All of a sudden, people like Keith Galloway and Pat Richards are part of an older incarnation of the team, rather than the fringes of the current generation.

Here’s hoping, then, that Tedesco, Moses and Brooks are given the opportunity and incentive to steward the team as brilliantly as Benji and Robbie did a decade and a half ago.

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