Benji Marshall goes head to head with the Tiger cubs he nurtured

IF Wests Tigers hotshot trio Luke Brooks, Mitch Moses and James Tedesco turn it on against the Dragons, blame Benji Marshall.

Mitchell Moses during Wests Tigers rugby league training at Concord Oval, Sydney. Pic Brett Costello

IF Wests Tigers’ hotshot trio Luke Brooks, Mitch Moses and James Tedesco turn it on against St George Illawarra tonight, blame Benji Marshall.

The former Tigers fan favourite made sure he looked after those three youngsters coming into the first-grade squad.

Brooks says he’ll never forget the wise words Marshall offered before his NRL debut at the SCG.

Moses says he’s tried to base his game on Marshall.

And Tedesco will always appreciate the way Marshall made him feel comfortable around the senior squad, and still considers him a mate.

But Marshall’s selfless pointers could come back to haunt him when he runs out for the Dragons on Monday night and tries to silence the same young punks he helped nurture.

“I was a big fan of Benji when I was younger, it was a bit weird going up against him last year,’’ Brooks said.

Mitchell Moses has tried to base his game on Benji Marshall.

“I spent a bit of time training with him, and the only game I played with him was my debut in 2013. He had a few words to me before the game, he said, ‘play your game, don’t be too scared to do things’.

“He played in the centres that day, myself and Braith Anasta were in the halves, but he made a break and set up a try. He’s a great player, he’s looking fit, and it will be a bit test for us.’’

Tedesco said of Marshall: “He was a good mentor for me, he was for all us young boys, and he made us feel ­comfortable in the environment. He’s still a good mate of mine.’’

Moses added: “It’s an honour to be wearing his No. 6 jersey.’’

Tigers skipper Robbie Farah misses one thing about playing alongside Marshall.

“Just having that X-factor on the field,’’ Farah said.

“Even if you were down by 10 or 12 points with eight minutes to go, you still had a feeling you could win the game, and that was something Benji could produce. It rubbed off on the rest of the players.’’

Benji Marshall will face off against his old club on Monday night.

But Farah stressed the importance of Monday night not being billed as “Brooks versus Benji’’, or “Mitch versus Benji’’.

“It’s about us getting the win,’’ said Farah, whose Tigers scraped home in a one-point thriller on the Gold Coast last Saturday.

“Those (three) are level-headed kids, and if I saw they were becoming complacent, or getting cocky and ­taking shortcuts at training, I’d ­definitely pull them up. But I haven’t had to do that. They’ve all got a great work ethic and they’re continually wanting to learn.’’

Just how far the Tigers go this ­season will depend on their halves Brooks and Moses, fullback Tedesco and Farah.

Sadly for Campbelltown locals, the Dragons are the only Sydney team to play at the venue, with the remaining three matches against interstate ­rivals. All four games last season were against out-of-towners.

Originally published as Benji Marshall goes head to head with the Tiger cubs he nurtured