Wests Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall has detailed why he is seriously considering a switch to rugby union, saying he believed he had agreed to an extension of his contract with his club, while bemoaning the lack of loyalty in professional sport.
Marshall, whose future with the Tigers has been clouded by interest from Super Rugby franchise Auckland Blues, said he would be ''stupid'' not to consider the interest from the rival code.
Marshall is off contract with the Tigers at the end of 2015, but the terms allowed for a renegotiation with any salary-cap increases following the new broadcast-rights deal.
Negotiations have been ongoing between Tigers officials and Marshall's manager Martin Tauber since early this year. So advanced were those discussions that the Kiwi international was of the opinion he had agreed to terms.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fairfax Media, he said he felt he had agreed to play with the club until 2017, and rejected any suggestions the link with rugby union was designed to push up his asking price. He said the interest from rugby came only after talk emerged that he was unhappy following his benching in round 10.
''I'm confused with it all myself,'' Marshall said. ''To my knowledge, I'd done a deal to stay at the Tigers until 2017, but with the changes to the CEO and the club, they've informed me that won't be the deal any more. I've got a lot of things to weigh up.''
But Marshall said his relationship with coach Mick Potter was good, while reiterating that he would never play against the Tigers. He also said he would not be distracted by the uncertainty over his future.
''I don't want to be pressured into rushing anything,'' he said. ''For the last three weeks, my focus has been just on trying to play well. If you're playing well, all the negative stuff goes away. That's my priority, to try and get our team in the semis* ... and we're still a realistic chance.''
Tauber has held talks with Blues coach John Kirwan over a possible switch to rugby union.
With Tauber having held more discussions with Tigers chief operating officer Grant Mayer last week, Marshall hoped to make a decision in the next few weeks, but was adamant he was seriously considering a change of codes.
''Growing up, it was a dream of mine to play for the All Blacks,'' he said. ''That changed and I started playing rugby league. But I'll consider rugby, absolutely.''
Tauber also revealed Marshall was prepared to take a pay cut to play rugby union. ''He has always played the game and had an interest and maybe it's time for a change, time for a new challenge, time for something exciting and different,'' he said.
Mayer, though, said Marshall was not simply a ''free agent'' at the end of this season, and would be required to request a release before he could cut ties with the club. ''He has two years to run on his contract and we're extremely hopeful that Benji Marshall will agree to his upgrade,'' Mayer said
