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Deja vue- Benji Bashing vs Benji Sceptics

M

moller

Juniors
Messages
498
Strong piece from Stuart, pretty much nails it.

Fulton is an embarrassing mouthpiece for the sport.
 
hybrid_tiger

hybrid_tiger

Coach
Messages
11,684
Matchball said:
I dont think anyone can coach the petulant child that Sheens nurtured.

Damaged goods.
Click to expand...

Nothing lasts forever. I think sometimes change is the best thing for both parties. I will always be grateful to Marshall for what he has achieved at our club but the fact of the matter is he is not performing and he is at an age where he should be at his absolute peak. IMO he has not improved as a footballer in the past five years and this is a big concern.

I think the best thing for both Marshall and the Tigers is to part ways. Penrith is a very good example. Everyone laughed at Gus when they punted Lewis and Jennings, both very good players. But like our joint, the senior players weren't creating a positive environment and both Cleary and Gould decided that they needed a fresh approach, a change in direction so they swept the broom through the place.

They ruffled lots of feathers and bruised a few egos but look at their improvement now. OK they will probably not make the 8 and are still a bottom half team but they have a side that goes out there and puts in, defends for their lives and plays simple, structured football. Combine the juniors they have coming through with smart recruitment (Soward, Sika Manu etc.) and they will be a force in the near future, IMO.
 
hutch

hutch

First Grade
Messages
6,810
hybrid_tiger said:
Nothing lasts forever. I think sometimes change is the best thing for both parties. I will always be grateful to Marshall for what he has achieved at our club but the fact of the matter is he is not performing and he is at an age where he should be at his absolute peak. IMO he has not improved as a footballer in the past five years and this is a big concern.

I think the best thing for both Marshall and the Tigers is to part ways. Penrith is a very good example. Everyone laughed at Gus when they punted Lewis and Jennings, both very good players. But like our joint, the senior players weren't creating a positive environment and both Cleary and Gould decided that they needed a fresh approach, a change in direction so they swept the broom through the place.

They ruffled lots of feathers and bruised a few egos but look at their improvement now. OK they will probably not make the 8 and are still a bottom half team but they have a side that goes out there and puts in, defends for their lives and plays simple, structured football. Combine the juniors they have coming through with smart recruitment (Soward, Sika Manu etc.) and they will be a force in the near future, IMO.
Click to expand...

Madness.
 
Tiger05

Tiger05

First Grade
Messages
9,869
I think it is madness as well. You need quality players and we have 2 of them possibly 3. I think the game against Souths showed where our issues are.

Benji needs to be well coached and the coach needs to get the most out of him. Farah is in the same boat. Those two players though can't carry us. We need a good forward pack and some good outside backs. Then if Benji and Robbie play to their ability we can win some games, maybe a comp.
 
M

Matchball

Bench
Messages
2,971
Benji doesn't want to be coached by Potter, you can tell when he is playing shit and sulky.
When did a player hold so much power to strangle the team?

It's a joke. He is devisive. Not a quality I like.
 
G

gronkathon

First Grade
Messages
9,266
Benji saw the way Hayne and co carried on at the Eels to get rid of several coaches they didn't want and think they can do the same.

Honestly I wouldn't mind bringing Brian Smith in as a consultant to hack the dead wood away
 
B

benched tiger

Bench
Messages
3,320
Make no mistake Benji is pissed off with being demoted,privately livid.In time it may be looked upon as a master stroke in awakening him to reach an elite level again as a footballer.It also was a message from Potter stating i'm the boss.Benji deserved to be dropped,but replacing him with Fulton was dumb and hard to justify a forward being a better 5/8 option than any other 5/8 in the club including Benji in his current state.
 
madunit

madunit

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
62,358
Tiger05 said:
I think it is madness as well. You need quality players and we have 2 of them possibly 3. I think the game against Souths showed where our issues are.

Benji needs to be well coached and the coach needs to get the most out of him. Farah is in the same boat. Those two players though can't carry us. We need a good forward pack and some good outside backs. Then if Benji and Robbie play to their ability we can win some games, maybe a comp.
Click to expand...
Half right.

We have good outside backs, 2009-2011 is evidence enough.

We need a strong back row and stability in the halves/spine.

Once that happens, our backs will get good opportunities and room to move, something they've had sweet f**k all of since the 2011 finals series.
 
Magpies Forever

Magpies Forever

Juniors
Messages
2,208
Benji admits ego was bruised by bench role
Date May 19, 2013
Glenn Jackson
Rugby League Writer

EXCLUSIVE

Wests Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall has opened up about his demotion, saying he was ''embarrassed'' to have been benched against South Sydney while promising to do everything he can to ensure it is a one-off occurrence.
''It's embarrassing more than anything,'' Marshall told Fairfax Media. ''Your ego takes a bit of a knock. But at the end of the day, he [coach Mick Potter] said he wanted a reaction … regardless of whether I was on the bench or not, I planned to play the way I played anyway. I don't think it was going to change what I did. But he's the coach, and he made the decision. You don't have to be happy with it, but it's his decision.
''I just hope it never has to happen again. I'll do everything I can. I've been trying off the field to do everything I can, doing a bit extra. I've still got to do a job for our team, whether I'm on the bench or not. Hopefully, next week, I can do that from the kick-off, from the start.''
Potter, who made the dramatic decision to bench Marshall last week, has already indicated that he will return the Kiwi international to the starting side for Friday night's clash against North Queensland at Leichhardt Oval.
Marshall, who sat on the bench for the first 17 minutes against the Rabbitohs, described the feeling as ''weird'' afterwards.
''I didn't really know what to do,'' he said. ''It was unfamiliar territory. It's heartbreaking, because you want to be out there helping your team. I know that I could have helped the team in the first 15. That was frustrating. But I went on and just tried to bring a bit of energy and spark to the team, and play the way I wanted to play. I thought I did that to a certain degree.
''I wanted to get involved a lot, try to get my hands on the ball as much as I could. I felt a little bit sorry for [halfback] Curtis Sironen, because I was taking over everywhere. But I had to prove a point. Whether I was sitting on the bench or not, or whether I started, I was still going to prove the same point.
''If you ask me if I was happy with the decision, no I wasn't. But as a senior player in the team, you've just got to cop it. Considering how hard it was, I thought I handled it pretty well.''
Marshall, who last played off the interchange bench in 2006, said he had been ''shattered'' when Potter told him last Tuesday that he would be replaced in the starting side. ''I argued a little bit about the reasoning behind it,'' Marshall said. ''When you're singled out a bit like that, it's like, 'Is it my fault that the team's been losing?' That's what it sort of felt like. But he assured me that wasn't the case. He just said he wanted a reaction. He's the coach, he makes the decisions. He's got to live and die by them. I just had to do a job when I came on and I tried to do that.''
Marshall handled the ball more times than any other Tiger except hooker Robbie Farah, and gave his side some spark when he was on the field. Yet he also conceded that he would be feeling the effects of his toe injury for some time yet.
Asked about the magnitude of the result, the Tigers' worst loss to Souths - handing his club its longest losing streak in the process - Marshall said: ''Sometimes you've got to take into account the class of the team you're playing against. I think some people forget we were playing the team that was on top of the table. They were on top of the table for a reason. They're a good side, and they outplayed us in most facets of the game.''
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/benji-admits-ego-was-bruised-by-bench-role-20130518-2jtap.html#ixzz2ToRGABIx
Key points of interest:



‘But at the end of the day, he [coach Mick Potter] said he wanted a reaction … regardless of whether I was on the bench or not, ………. But he's the coach, and he made the decision. You don't have to be happy with it, but it's his decision’.
  • Benji never calls Potter by his name, lack of respect and pushing result onto his shoulders but the last sentence also can be read as acknowledging Potter’s authority.
‘But at the end of the day, he [coach Mick Potter] said he wanted a reaction … regardless of whether I was on the bench or not, I planned to play the way I played anyway’.
  • If Potter thinks I’m going to change for him I’m not I was going to do my own thing anyway.
''I just hope it never has to happen again. I'll do everything I can. I've been trying off the field to do everything I can, doing a bit extra. I've still got to do a job for our team, whether I'm on the bench or not. Hopefully, next week, I can do that from the kick-off, from the start.''
  • Benji thinks he is doing enough and wants to be there for the team from the start.
''It was unfamiliar territory. It's heartbreaking, because you want to be out there helping your team. I know that I could have helped the team in the first 15. That was frustrating. But I went on and just tried to bring a bit of energy and spark to the team, and play the way I wanted to play. I thought I did that to a certain degree’.
  • Benji considers he lifted the team a bit when he came on.
''I wanted to get involved a lot, try to get my hands on the ball as much as I could. I felt a little bit sorry for [halfback] Curtis Sironen, because I was taking over everywhere. But I had to prove a point. Whether I was sitting on the bench or not, or whether I started, I was still going to prove the same point’.
  • To try to prove a point Marshall f’ed up Sironen’s game and hogged everything as per every other halfback that gets anywhere near him.
''If you ask me if I was happy with the decision, no I wasn't. But as a senior player in the team, you've just got to cop it. Considering how hard it was, I thought I handled it pretty well.'' …..he had been ''shattered'' when Potter told him last Tuesday that he would be replaced in the starting side. ''I argued a little bit about the reasoning behind it,'' ''When you're singled out a bit like that, it's like, 'Is it my fault that the team's been losing?' But he assured me that wasn't the case. He just said he wanted a reaction. He's the coach, he makes the decisions. He's got to live and die by them. I just had to do a job when I came on and I tried to do that.''
  • Feels victimised, not his fault, coach playing with him for reaction, he lives and dies by them- again doesn’t mention Potter’s name. Again just the simple player doing a job.
Interesting thoughts there guys- he doesn't acknowledge Potter by name anywhere, he doesn't care if he f's up anyone elses game but he will continue to do his own thing (yet strangely enough he still considers himself a team player or maybe more correctly the team is his), the coach is playing with him for a reaction, feels the victim and whilst saying he is a senior player he deflects that responsibility.
Boys- I think we're in for a storm between Potter and Benji and Potter shouldn't back down. Maybe things will blow up but what Benji has been doing so far for the eam since 06 hasn't worked too well. Something different is needed. Benji has to either adapt to the new ways or get out.

Sorry guys cut and pasted this from word and the font got lost cant seem to amend in edits.
 
Last edited:
M

moller

Juniors
Messages
498
Ron's_Mate said:
Putting in a chip kick on the second tackle, 20 meters out from your try line, when your team is down by 50 points.
Click to expand...

Close - it's actually putting in a chip kick on the second tackle, 20 metres out from your try line, when your team is down by 50 points over and over again, and expecting a different result each time.
 
M

Matchball

Bench
Messages
2,971
Hate those reflection pieces from the smh.
He sucks, knows he sucks but puts on a different face for these journalists instead of the truth.
Two faced braggert.
 
W

WireMan

Bench
Messages
4,479
All you need is a solid first receiver.

Doesn't have to be a Cronk level player, just someone who can move the team around steadily when needed.

Against NRL defences that is clearly not enough, so you have Benji around to chime in and add some real flair to the game.


The best example i can think is the Tigers from super league. They had Danny Orr play halfback. Nothing special (i bet you have not heard of him), but played the game by the numbers. To the forwards when needed, kicks for territory at the end. Then when the opportunity (usually tackle 4 or 5) arose the ball goes out to Chase and we have a lovely youtube compilation of top skills that all end in trys. :D

He will never be your Cronk or Thurston. He has not got the game to do that. What he does well though, he does better than anyone.
 
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