FUIFUI_MOIMOI
Juniors
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WHEN you can no longer holler for a Marshall, who ya gonna call? Well, Wests Tigers yesterday called for someone by the name of Tim Moltzen.
After Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall went down with a knee injury in just the second minute, 19-year-old Moltzen was thrown into his first-grade debut in the most testing of circumstances - taking over in a key position in round one. A natural five-eighth he may be, but he is no Mr Natural.
While he has been a five-eighth for most of his life, during the preparation for yesterday's game against the Dragons, he spent no time in the position.
"I was pretty shocked, I didn't really expect it," the Central Coast junior said. "They called out my name and said 'warm up', and I was sort of looking around wondering why. I saw Benj down and didn't really think too much of it.
"I didn't have too long to think about it, which was probably a good thing. It was a good test for me. I just tried to hold my own, and hopefully that's what I did."
He did indeed. He might have a surname that sounds more like something you'd take after a hangover than the moniker of an NRL superstar, but Tigers coach Tim Sheens called out Moltzen for special praise after he scored a try, and almost bagged another in a performance that was, apart from one second-half error, mistake-free.
The greatest sign that Moltzen did a sterling job was that Tigers skipper Brett Hodgson and other teammates did not even realise Marshall was off the field until long after the brilliant playmaker had limped up the SFS tunnel. "To be honest, some of us didn't even know that Benji was off for another five or ten minutes," Hodgson said.
On a weekend in which debutants dominated, it was fitting that the Tigers' young cubs in Moltzen and winger Peni Tagive produced largely immaculate performances.
Moltzen even showed off a step straight out of Marshall's glitzy wardrobe.
"I don't think any white fellas can pull off that step," he said. "I'll just leave that stuff for him and try my own stuff."
Of his build-up, Moltzen said: "I was pretty nervous, tossing and turning last night. It didn't really hit me until I was watching the footy.
"That probably wasn't the best thing to be doing, just watching all the hits and all the big boys running around. But I'm glad to get it out of the way.
"I was more excited than nervous and I wasn't really scared of anything. I just went out there and, yeah, gave it a go."
After Marshall departed, it was the Tigers who stood tallest. In recent years at least, he has been sidelined far more than he has been sidestepping, and the team knows how to play without him. Rather than the Dragons targeting Tigers deficiencies in the absence of one of their key playmakers, the Tigers hid them by playing simple football.
Keep It Simple Stupid is a well-worn phrase, and yesterday the Tigers made the Dragons look silly by doing exactly that.
And it worked a treat. As Sheens said: "Tim's no Benji Marshall, from a creative side of things. He's still a baby. But the senior blokes took over and kept it tight. We kept the ball in hand and tried not to expose the kid."
The Tigers completed 18 of 20 sets of six in the first half, which set up an 18-4 half-time lead. And although the Dragons threatened to make a game of it in the second half, it was enough in the end.
"It wasn't a pretty game, but, nevertheless, maybe the old timers would have liked that because it was a real dour effort in the middle of the field," Sheens said. Perhaps the game would have been better suited to the SCG.
"Our defence, our enthusiasm, maybe a bit of criticism last year," Sheens put it down to. "Last year, we lost Benji early against Melbourne and kept going and beat them. I hope it's not that we've got to lose someone to fire us up."
As for Moltzen, he put his hand up to be Marshall's replacement until he returns.
"I'd be happy to try and fill his shoes," he said. "I'm no Benji Marshall, but I'm trying to learn. I'll get out there and do my best."
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/tim-who-rookie-steps-up-to-answer-the-call/2008/03/16/1205602180021.html
After Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall went down with a knee injury in just the second minute, 19-year-old Moltzen was thrown into his first-grade debut in the most testing of circumstances - taking over in a key position in round one. A natural five-eighth he may be, but he is no Mr Natural.
While he has been a five-eighth for most of his life, during the preparation for yesterday's game against the Dragons, he spent no time in the position.
"I was pretty shocked, I didn't really expect it," the Central Coast junior said. "They called out my name and said 'warm up', and I was sort of looking around wondering why. I saw Benj down and didn't really think too much of it.
"I didn't have too long to think about it, which was probably a good thing. It was a good test for me. I just tried to hold my own, and hopefully that's what I did."
He did indeed. He might have a surname that sounds more like something you'd take after a hangover than the moniker of an NRL superstar, but Tigers coach Tim Sheens called out Moltzen for special praise after he scored a try, and almost bagged another in a performance that was, apart from one second-half error, mistake-free.
The greatest sign that Moltzen did a sterling job was that Tigers skipper Brett Hodgson and other teammates did not even realise Marshall was off the field until long after the brilliant playmaker had limped up the SFS tunnel. "To be honest, some of us didn't even know that Benji was off for another five or ten minutes," Hodgson said.
On a weekend in which debutants dominated, it was fitting that the Tigers' young cubs in Moltzen and winger Peni Tagive produced largely immaculate performances.
Moltzen even showed off a step straight out of Marshall's glitzy wardrobe.
"I don't think any white fellas can pull off that step," he said. "I'll just leave that stuff for him and try my own stuff."
Of his build-up, Moltzen said: "I was pretty nervous, tossing and turning last night. It didn't really hit me until I was watching the footy.
"That probably wasn't the best thing to be doing, just watching all the hits and all the big boys running around. But I'm glad to get it out of the way.
"I was more excited than nervous and I wasn't really scared of anything. I just went out there and, yeah, gave it a go."
After Marshall departed, it was the Tigers who stood tallest. In recent years at least, he has been sidelined far more than he has been sidestepping, and the team knows how to play without him. Rather than the Dragons targeting Tigers deficiencies in the absence of one of their key playmakers, the Tigers hid them by playing simple football.
Keep It Simple Stupid is a well-worn phrase, and yesterday the Tigers made the Dragons look silly by doing exactly that.
And it worked a treat. As Sheens said: "Tim's no Benji Marshall, from a creative side of things. He's still a baby. But the senior blokes took over and kept it tight. We kept the ball in hand and tried not to expose the kid."
The Tigers completed 18 of 20 sets of six in the first half, which set up an 18-4 half-time lead. And although the Dragons threatened to make a game of it in the second half, it was enough in the end.
"It wasn't a pretty game, but, nevertheless, maybe the old timers would have liked that because it was a real dour effort in the middle of the field," Sheens said. Perhaps the game would have been better suited to the SCG.
"Our defence, our enthusiasm, maybe a bit of criticism last year," Sheens put it down to. "Last year, we lost Benji early against Melbourne and kept going and beat them. I hope it's not that we've got to lose someone to fire us up."
As for Moltzen, he put his hand up to be Marshall's replacement until he returns.
"I'd be happy to try and fill his shoes," he said. "I'm no Benji Marshall, but I'm trying to learn. I'll get out there and do my best."
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/tim-who-rookie-steps-up-to-answer-the-call/2008/03/16/1205602180021.html
