NRL 2024: Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett won’t be speaking to Wests Tigers rival Benji Marshall before their teams clash in round 5
Benji Marshall is one of Wayne Bennett’s favourite players from a 40-year coaching career, but they won’t be exchanging pleasantries ahead of a bumper showdown.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Wayne Bennett has picked up a few favourite players during a 40-year coaching career.
Think Allan Langer, Shane Webcke and Darius Boyd, to name a few. He will always answers their calls, even the 2am pranks from ‘Alfie’.
But there was a favourite put on the blacklist this week – for one week only.
Benji Marshall.
“No, there will be no texts this week,” Bennett said about Marshall on Friday.
“I loved my time with him. We are great friends.
“But he’s got a job to do and I’ve got a job to do and nothing will interfere with our friendship.
“Do we have to live in each other’s pocket? No we don’t.”
That’s because Bennett and Marshall will sit in opposing coaches’ boxes for the first time at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Now in charge of the Dolphins, Bennett will occupy the seat in the home team’s box that has moulded to the shape of his backside over four decades, so often has he sat in it.
Marshall will make his first appearance in the hot seat of the away team’s box after being handed the reins of the Wests Tigers this season.
Arguably New Zealand’s greatest rugby league export following a 346-game NRL playing career, Marshall has made a flying start to life as a coach.
The Tigers, last year’s wooden spooners, and Dolphins both boast 2-1 records this season, setting up an interesting clash.
Bennett crossed paths numerous times with Marshall throughout his 19-season playing career with the Tigers, Dragons, Broncos and Rabbitohs.
They won the 2008 World Cup together with the Kiwis and Marshall’s last game in the NRL was for the Bennett-coached Rabbitohs in the 2021 grand final loss to Penrith.
Bennett signed Marshall at the Broncos in 2017 when he was facing the NRL scrapheap and knew the instinctive playmaker had a coaching career ahead of him.
“Yeah (with) his mannerisms and confidence, his knowledge of the game and he’s really good around people,” Bennett said.
“I’m pleased for him and them. It is a great club, Wests Tigers.
“They have been in the competition a long time under two different names (Wests and Balmain) and came together after the Super League war and won a premiership (2005).
“I want to see all clubs succeed. We have our turns at the top and bottom.
“I am pleased for (Marshall) and pleased for them that they have won their last two games. They’re playing well.”
Before the 2024 NRL Premiership kicked off, the Dolphins could have circled this game as an expected win.
But the Tigers’ efforts in wins against top eight hopefuls Cronulla and Parramatta have shown this could go either way.
The Dolphins went into the start of this weekend’s round 5 fixtures on top of the NRL ladder, but Bennett knows there’s a long way to go, especially with a Marshall-coached Tigers team on their doorstep.
“I don’t think they’ve (Dolphins players) taken themselves too seriously. They’re not at that place in their rugby league careers yet,” he said.
“We’ve got another 20-odd games to go. If we had two weeks to go and we were at the top I might be a bit more interested that we’re at the top.”
More Coverage
Originally published as NRL 2024: Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett won’t be speaking to Wests Tigers rival Benji Marshall before their teams clash in round 5
NRL pull late schedule change because of AFL
The NRL has reportedly pulled a late finals scheduling switch to avoid a clash with the AFL, leaving two clubs hard done by.
Why Broncos review must be an open book for fans
The analysis of Brisbane’s horror finish to the 2024 season needs to be an open book. And no, it’s not as unfair as players would have you believe, writes PAMELA WHALEY.