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SHEENS HOLDS COURT ON 'BENJI QUESTIONS' By Wayne Cousins
Like a classic gunslinger in the western movies, respected Wests Tigers Coach Tim Sheens just picked off his opponents one by one.
Sitting alongside CEO Scott Longmuir, captain Robbie Farah, international Dene Halatau and the most capped Wests Tigers player of them all, John Skandalis (now the clubs community liaison officer). Sheens fielded questions on the future of key playmaker Benji Marshall in between launching the 10th anniversary celebrations of Wests Tigers.
Before long, the first question is fired. Has Benji Marshall given the team a bit of a birthday present in terms of his re-signing?
Clearing his throat, Sheens replied thats an ongoing negotiation. He has indicated he wants to be here. Done.
Move on.
Next question: Is there any movement on him playing in Japan for a season?
Longmuir steps in this rugby union thing has been on and off for a long time. I think there has been some discussion but again, there has been nothing concrete come across our table yet and we are working very closely with his manager as well. At the moment, it is just speculation.
Coach smiles.
A reporter fires off the next question. Would you still resign him if he had a stint in Japan?
That would be another discussion with Tim and our organisation to see if we would be comfortable with that, Longmuir states.
Next Benji question. Tim, would you be happy for him to come back into the place if he did play rugby?.
After taking a deep breath, Sheens shoots from the hip.
Like Scott said, it is all speculative. For the player group to let another player not train in a pre-season situation and maybe miss games is a big ask, particularly a key player in a key position, Sheens said.
It is no secret I am pushing hard to play Benji at seven. He will play there this weekend. A lot of those things would have to be considered.
We have talked about Europe and other things but no-one knows much about what would happen in Japan, and what the competition is. I know nothing about what they do or what their level of competition is or what the fatigue factor would be on him, let alone the actual dates of the competition.
We cant do anything until something is put in front of us.
Another Benji question. Those factors, fatigue, risk of injury, are real issues considering the history he does have?
Still calm but getting tired of the same old questions, Sheens replied. Look again, I didnt want to be dragged any further into it guys and at the moment, it has been on again, off again and I dont think there is anything concrete there, so we just continually talk about what might happen. There are a lot of things that might happen, so at this stage, you wait to see what the proposal was, if there is going to be a proposal.
At the moment, his manager is negotiating with us as if there is virtually no proposal. At the moment, that possibility is holding things up.
We are in no hurry and neither are they. He is on contract this year coming, so it is not as if something has to be done tomorrow.
With that, the format of the questions changed, although Benji was still part of the equation. This time, it was talk around Chris Lawrence moving to five-eighth to partner Marshall.
Question: Is there anything to read into that now that Lawrence is in the centres for the Souths trial.
Glad to talk about the team itself, Sheens got going again.
I would have to say Chris will be left in the centres for a little while. Im experimenting with one change in the halves and so, it would be a big risk for me and a little bit too disruptive for the team to experiment with two, Sheens said.
I would like to slowly blood Chris into the five-eighth position. At the moment, he is a representative standard centre and he plays his best football there. He is 20 years of age and I am not going to ask him to do things that he cant do just yet.
He will be given little opportunities to play five-eighth in set pieces but overall it might be 12 months for me to settle on whether Marshall is successful at seven before I start worrying about a young 20 year old six next to him.
Next question involves John Morris. Is John Morris a form of a stabilizer at five-eighth?.
Tim: Yes, poor old Johnny has been put into that category. He will plug the gap. He can play nine, seven, six and 13. We bought John originally as a utility player and he has given more than value for what we paid for Johnny Morris.
Not only the number of games but the effort he puts in. He is a very, very professional player. He might not score 20 tries a season but there is plenty of work done behind the scenes with John. Part of that is stabilizing. The fact is he is an experienced player and he has handled whatever we have thrown at him. He has been very good for the team.
The questions move on, ranging from how disappointing was the Souths team for the weekend to concerns about the extreme heat forecasted. Will ice vests be used?
They are playing in quarters and the white jumpers. I am sure the game will be played in a way that we can get three trainers on, Sheens said.
Longmuir chips in with a comment about a late afternoon breeze predicted. To which Sheens replied there used to always be a late southerly blow at Redfern in the old days but all it ever blew was dust.
Sheens says every precaution will be taken. The early part of the NRL season is always hot, so we might as well get used to it. I think the only person panicking is (Englishman) Gareth Ellis, who might just suffer from sunstroke.
Attention switches to captain Farah, who used his spare time to cool off with club sponsored product, Gatorade. When will you be back from the back injury.
Farah nominates the Foundation Cup at the SFS on February 21 before adding he would like a full game against Shellharbour on March 6, the week before the comp starts.
Next. 'Would he welcome Benji back if he played rugby in Japan?'.
"If it means keeping him at the club, I'm sure everyone will be pretty open minded about it,'' Farah stated.
The next question involves around how does Robbie Farah prepare for what could be a big representative season for him with the NSW job on offer?.
Farah returns serve with an ace. Its just the same like any other off-season, I just want to get myself fit. Ive had surgery so a lot of my work has been rehab. Im not worried about Origin. I just want to get fit for round one.
Are you worried about the back playing up?. Farah replies The pains gone, mate.
Unfortunately for Sheens, the pain was still hanging around. More questions on Benji followed. Almost, the same answers given. Nothing new revealed.
The focus switches to Halatau, a member of the World Cup winning Kiwis team. He is asked how Sheens would go as the Australian coach should the position be offered?
He would do a great job for the Aussies, Halatau said.
As for Skandalis, he was asked about the early years of the joint venture. Now a full-time member of the sales and marketing team, the chance to promote membership was not lost on him.
We had some tough years. The club itself has gone from strength to strength. Our ultimate membership this year has gone up 35 per cent already. We are going to have to work hard like every club does because of the financial crisis happening, Skandalis said, impressively.
With that, the press conference was all but over. With cameras flashing and recording, Sheens, Farah and Halatau cut the chocolate anniversary cake.
The media sang a different tune for a change, much to Sheens liking. That, of Happy Birthday Wests Tigers.
Like a classic gunslinger in the western movies, respected Wests Tigers Coach Tim Sheens just picked off his opponents one by one.
Sitting alongside CEO Scott Longmuir, captain Robbie Farah, international Dene Halatau and the most capped Wests Tigers player of them all, John Skandalis (now the clubs community liaison officer). Sheens fielded questions on the future of key playmaker Benji Marshall in between launching the 10th anniversary celebrations of Wests Tigers.
Before long, the first question is fired. Has Benji Marshall given the team a bit of a birthday present in terms of his re-signing?
Clearing his throat, Sheens replied thats an ongoing negotiation. He has indicated he wants to be here. Done.
Move on.
Next question: Is there any movement on him playing in Japan for a season?
Longmuir steps in this rugby union thing has been on and off for a long time. I think there has been some discussion but again, there has been nothing concrete come across our table yet and we are working very closely with his manager as well. At the moment, it is just speculation.
Coach smiles.
A reporter fires off the next question. Would you still resign him if he had a stint in Japan?
That would be another discussion with Tim and our organisation to see if we would be comfortable with that, Longmuir states.
Next Benji question. Tim, would you be happy for him to come back into the place if he did play rugby?.
After taking a deep breath, Sheens shoots from the hip.
Like Scott said, it is all speculative. For the player group to let another player not train in a pre-season situation and maybe miss games is a big ask, particularly a key player in a key position, Sheens said.
It is no secret I am pushing hard to play Benji at seven. He will play there this weekend. A lot of those things would have to be considered.
We have talked about Europe and other things but no-one knows much about what would happen in Japan, and what the competition is. I know nothing about what they do or what their level of competition is or what the fatigue factor would be on him, let alone the actual dates of the competition.
We cant do anything until something is put in front of us.
Another Benji question. Those factors, fatigue, risk of injury, are real issues considering the history he does have?
Still calm but getting tired of the same old questions, Sheens replied. Look again, I didnt want to be dragged any further into it guys and at the moment, it has been on again, off again and I dont think there is anything concrete there, so we just continually talk about what might happen. There are a lot of things that might happen, so at this stage, you wait to see what the proposal was, if there is going to be a proposal.
At the moment, his manager is negotiating with us as if there is virtually no proposal. At the moment, that possibility is holding things up.
We are in no hurry and neither are they. He is on contract this year coming, so it is not as if something has to be done tomorrow.
With that, the format of the questions changed, although Benji was still part of the equation. This time, it was talk around Chris Lawrence moving to five-eighth to partner Marshall.
Question: Is there anything to read into that now that Lawrence is in the centres for the Souths trial.
Glad to talk about the team itself, Sheens got going again.
I would have to say Chris will be left in the centres for a little while. Im experimenting with one change in the halves and so, it would be a big risk for me and a little bit too disruptive for the team to experiment with two, Sheens said.
I would like to slowly blood Chris into the five-eighth position. At the moment, he is a representative standard centre and he plays his best football there. He is 20 years of age and I am not going to ask him to do things that he cant do just yet.
He will be given little opportunities to play five-eighth in set pieces but overall it might be 12 months for me to settle on whether Marshall is successful at seven before I start worrying about a young 20 year old six next to him.
Next question involves John Morris. Is John Morris a form of a stabilizer at five-eighth?.
Tim: Yes, poor old Johnny has been put into that category. He will plug the gap. He can play nine, seven, six and 13. We bought John originally as a utility player and he has given more than value for what we paid for Johnny Morris.
Not only the number of games but the effort he puts in. He is a very, very professional player. He might not score 20 tries a season but there is plenty of work done behind the scenes with John. Part of that is stabilizing. The fact is he is an experienced player and he has handled whatever we have thrown at him. He has been very good for the team.
The questions move on, ranging from how disappointing was the Souths team for the weekend to concerns about the extreme heat forecasted. Will ice vests be used?
They are playing in quarters and the white jumpers. I am sure the game will be played in a way that we can get three trainers on, Sheens said.
Longmuir chips in with a comment about a late afternoon breeze predicted. To which Sheens replied there used to always be a late southerly blow at Redfern in the old days but all it ever blew was dust.
Sheens says every precaution will be taken. The early part of the NRL season is always hot, so we might as well get used to it. I think the only person panicking is (Englishman) Gareth Ellis, who might just suffer from sunstroke.
Attention switches to captain Farah, who used his spare time to cool off with club sponsored product, Gatorade. When will you be back from the back injury.
Farah nominates the Foundation Cup at the SFS on February 21 before adding he would like a full game against Shellharbour on March 6, the week before the comp starts.
Next. 'Would he welcome Benji back if he played rugby in Japan?'.
"If it means keeping him at the club, I'm sure everyone will be pretty open minded about it,'' Farah stated.
The next question involves around how does Robbie Farah prepare for what could be a big representative season for him with the NSW job on offer?.
Farah returns serve with an ace. Its just the same like any other off-season, I just want to get myself fit. Ive had surgery so a lot of my work has been rehab. Im not worried about Origin. I just want to get fit for round one.
Are you worried about the back playing up?. Farah replies The pains gone, mate.
Unfortunately for Sheens, the pain was still hanging around. More questions on Benji followed. Almost, the same answers given. Nothing new revealed.
The focus switches to Halatau, a member of the World Cup winning Kiwis team. He is asked how Sheens would go as the Australian coach should the position be offered?
He would do a great job for the Aussies, Halatau said.
As for Skandalis, he was asked about the early years of the joint venture. Now a full-time member of the sales and marketing team, the chance to promote membership was not lost on him.
We had some tough years. The club itself has gone from strength to strength. Our ultimate membership this year has gone up 35 per cent already. We are going to have to work hard like every club does because of the financial crisis happening, Skandalis said, impressively.
With that, the press conference was all but over. With cameras flashing and recording, Sheens, Farah and Halatau cut the chocolate anniversary cake.
The media sang a different tune for a change, much to Sheens liking. That, of Happy Birthday Wests Tigers.
