Entry 29, 2nd December 2010
I'm glad to see that one of my predictions has come good this year! Whilst Featherstone let me down at the final hurdle in the Championship and Warrington couldn't rise to win the Super League crown, I was right with my pick of Benji Marshall as the World's best player.
To be honest it was a no brainer.
I went into some detail of Benji's career in an earlier article but for those of you who didn't see what I put, here it is again:
BENJI MARSHALL
For several years Benji Marshall has wowed the crowds in the NRL and certainly since working with Tim Sheens the talented halfback has taken his game to a whole new level.
The 25 year old was first graded in the NRL as a precocious teenager in 2003 and made his debut for Wests Tigers in a Round 20 game against Newcastle Knights. After leaving his native New Zealand, he went on to play for the formidable Australian Schoolboys after being offered a rugby scholarship by a school in Queensland.
He looked set to add to his experience in 2004 and helped guide Wests to win the World Sevens event before two dislocated shoulders brought an end to his season.
The following year he was back and better than ever. He played 27 games for Wests during the season and scored 15 tries as the merged club won the Premiership for the first time.
Once again, injury intervened in 2006 and again in 2007. It looked like another frustrating season lay infront of Marshall in 2008. He opened the season as part of a team that defeated St George 24-16 but only played one further game in the first 9 weeks. Thankfully for him and the Tigers, his return saw him again take up an important role and he was at his best when the Bulldogs were vanquished 56-4, scoring a try, laying a couple on and kicking 8 goals for a 20 point haul.
That momentum was carried into the 2008 World Cup and Marshall got better as the tournament went
on, playing a key role in a semi-final defeat of England before impressing against Australia in the final when the Kiwis won in excellent fashion 34-20.
2009 signalled a change for Marshall as he switched from stand-off to scrum half. Initially the changeover was slow but when Benji got up to speed with the position he excelled. This term has seen Marshall return to the blistering form of 2005. In 27 NRL matches he scored 12 tries, kicked 76 goals and 3 drop goals while he has really found his form in the Four Nations, leading from the front against England and conjuring a couple of plays when the Kiwis backs were to the wall last weekend.
He has now appeared 130 times for the Tigers, scoring 53 tries, kicking 207 goals and those three drop goals for 629 points.
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Now the Rugby League World is at Marshall's feet. He was inspirational in the Four Nations Final and magic in the previous game against Australia, almost single handedly bringing Kiwi respectability back after the Aussies got out to a big lead. To be honest, Benji has always been destined for superstardom in the sport and his crowning try in the 2008 World Cup Final, well I still see it in my minds eye, the fumble from Billy Slater, the look of disgust and then abject panic as the champion halfback scooped up the mistake and scored.
His play at the very death of the 2010 Four Nations Final will go down in history. It made glorious television and radio as he took the ball to the line on the last tackle, fired a wide pass right for Shaun Kenny-Dowall to work the numbers game and forge a break for Jason Nightingale. If that pass was not sublime enough, with the vision and the footwork to really create, Marshall then had the gumption to follow up and when Nightingale's inside pass was played at by Darren Lockyer, it was the Kiwi who picked up the pieces and looked set to score himself before a desparing tackle slowed him down and another speculative offload, this time over his left shoulder was collected on the bounce for Nathan Fein to go under the posts.
I'd describe it as Rugby League poetry, equal to any of Shakespeare's sonnets or the best of William Blake. He is a pivotal player and I believe he is getting better.
Today, Marshall spoke to the Wests Tigers Website. He said: “To win this award, after coming back from three shoulder reconstructions, winning the Four Nations, and having my best ever year since I’ve started in the NRL, is pretty overwhelming,’’ Marshall said.
“I’m pretty excited. It is something I definitely won’t take for granted.”
“Losing my Dad was pretty tough. He was my number one supporter. He watched every game I played in and would offer advice,’’ Marshall recalled.
“ I said at his funeral that I would dedicate this year to him. Before every game I said a prayer, something I normally don’t do, but I did it because I knew how much he loved his church.
“I not only wanted to play for myself but in memory for him.
“My mum has been keeping track of everything I do too, so she would be over the moon.”
“I have matured on and off the field this year. On the field, I feel I have taken on more of a leadership role and directed the team around more than usual,’’ he said.
“I have to give plenty of credit to the Wests Tigers players for what they do around me and letting me play my game. They make me look good a lot of the time.
“I also like to thank the coaching staff of Tim Sheens, Royce Simmons, Peter Gentle and everyone involved with the club. Without them, these awards don’t happen for me.”
"I have plenty of respect for everything Tim has done for me," he said.
“Coming from school as a touch footy player who didn’t really know much about rugby league, Tim taught me everything I know.
“I am the player I am today because of Tim and I still have plenty more to learn.
“We have a great relationship on and off the field. He has definitely been like a father figure for me in Sydney.”
Again my congratulations to Benji on an outstanding 2010. I hope 2011 is just as successful and that I get the chance to see Mr Marshall playing for the Kiwis in next season's Four Nations.
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