BEFORE last year's first round my column was about Benji Marshall. I know it's no business of mine now, but I wrote it in a year when I wasn't involved in the NRL.
Anyway, now is probably the right time to bring it to closure.
I wrote that his time had come. That 2012 was the year that he had to make good on all that potential he possessed - to take his place among the great five-eighths in the game, and join the likes of Lockyer, Fittler and Daley, he needed to go to the next level and take the Tigers with him.
He was the right age, and talking to his coach at the time, Tim Sheens, it was clear I wasn't the only one who thought so.
The Tigers were considered to have the best roster in the NRL at the time. Looking back now, and their 10th-placed finish, we can see they failed.
I also believe Benji failed to deliver.
For years now, the Tigers have been his team and they have played accordingly; at times brilliant, but at times too inconsistent.
As that fell away more this year, new coach Mick Potter took the ultimate action last week when he put Benji in the No. 14 jumper and brought him off the bench.
Now we get the chance to find out the real Benji.
The Tigers are in a tough position.
The new salary cap has activated a clause in his contract allowing him to renegotiate his contract, which calls for a substantial upgrade and, according to all reports, he is also looking for a two-year extension to the end of 2017.
At 29, that's some risk for a player like Marshall. It would have been less of a risk if he had stepped up like I'd hoped last year and become more of a game manager, as Lockyer, Fittler and Daley all became as age slowed them a little, rather than a player who relied simply on his brilliance.
The Tigers have some terrific young halves coming through in Curtis Sironen, Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses.
Such succession plans are what every club strives to implement; have a quality set of youngsters ready to mature when the seasoned campaigners are ready to retire. Sironen is already playing regular first grade (and will end up in the back row) and the other two are coming through and will be ready soon.
About the only thing you can be sure of is they won't be prepared to wait another four years for Benji to see out his deal.
With his contract there for renegotiation, the Tigers have to make a decision whether Benji is capable of becoming that game manager. Or whether they cut ties and invest in that future.
Now, I'll make it clear here. Because every player off-contract is linked to Parramatta, this isn't about any agenda or ploy to get Benji to the Eels. We have our own plans for the future.
But Benji has to make a decision - and that is whether he wants to stay there another four years with so much rebuilding to be done at the club.
Players are remembered for how they end their careers, not how they start them, and it's a fair argument that at this point in his career, with the skills he brings, Benji might have more success at another club where he could complement the roster already in place rather than having to carry them on his back, like he will have to do at the Tigers.
That might sound a bit tough on the Tigers, but it's a decision that has to be made quickly.
In many ways, it appears the toughest, but the smartest call.
But I believe Benji can't go.
He owes the Wests Tigers.
They have invested so much in him over the years that he needs to spend the rest of his time giving the club back as much as he can. For a start, if the club can manage to find a way to accommodate Benji and those young halves coming through all in the same side, they would benefit significantly.
The thing about young halves is it's important to have experienced players around them. I was very fortunate that I had experienced players around me when I came into first grade, teammates like Chris O'Sullivan, Dean Lance and Gary Coyne. Guys, positionally, who were close to me on the field. Older heads create a calm head for a player starting his career.
It's always important to know, as a club, that your best products are coming through with your senior, experienced players around them.
I could see in difficult circumstances on Friday night for the Souths game that there was a different desire and energy in Benji's efforts.
That's good for those kids to see.
Handled correctly, Benji can turn it around and make good on what I wanted to see from him last season.
And I hope it works, I truly do, as the game is better having him in his best form.
The time has come for him to cut back on his extra activities, like his television appearances and some of his sponsor commitments, and refocus on what enabled those extra incomes to fall his way.
He needs to re-dedicate himself to his football, because the football came first, and needs to stay first.
It's the only way these stories end happily.
