Remembering the night Benji Marshall and Jarryd Hayne went to war

Andrew Voss will never forget the night Jarryd Hayne and Benji Marshall went to war with a semi-final berth on the line and the two superstars produced a remarkable display of attacking football.

Jarryd Hayne tackled by Benji Marshall during Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers NRL game at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta in Sydney.

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Benji Marshall’s miraculous behind the back flick pass and Jarryd Hayne’s freakish purple patch of form.

These are the two moments that define the round 24 clash between the Wests Tigers and Parramatta at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2009.

“And that is all you want to watch,” Commentator Andrew Voss said of the match that Fox League will re-call on Saturday.

“It is megastar versus megastar. It is Justin Bieber taking on Bono in the music stakes. |Marshall and Hayne were both in supreme entertainment form.

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Hayne and Marshall were at the peak of their powers.

“Benji was brilliant while for Parramatta it was all about jumping on board the Hayne Plane. He had a pretty amazing run.”

Parramatta won the match 26-18 on the back of Hayne’s brilliance, but it was a moment of Marshall magic that had the bumper crowd on its feet.

Benji broke the deadlock after 20 minutes with a sublime behind the back flick pass for winger Blake Ayshford to open the scoring.

It was a play that shocked most at the ground, but Voss wasn’t surprised at all.

He had previously seen Marshall produce majestic passes at training, so he knew it could be replicated under the bright lights of Friday night footy.

In the end, Hayne came out on top.

“As part of my job you go to training sessions and sit and watch the players,” Voss said.

“I was always blown away by how entertaining it was to watch the Tigers train.

“I remember Benji saying, even going back to the 2005 grand final, that coach Tim Sheens would always tell them that you only do in games what you practice at training.

“But Benji would do incredible things like that flick pass at training. It was mesmerising to watch. “You’d see Benji produce some amazing skill at training at an empty Concord Oval, then you see him do it on the big stage in front of a big crowd. Geez, he is an amazing player. I love him.”

Dugan was the standout despite Canberra‘s defeat. Photo by Robert Gray/Getty Images.

Also, keep an eye out for fresh-faced Josh Dugan in another of the recalled games, when the young phenom produced a masterclass for Canberra, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Issac Luke led Rabbitohs from running riot.

The round seven clash between the Raiders and South Sydney in the nation’s capital in 2010 won’t go down as a classic, but the closeness on the scoreboard had fans on the cusp of their seats.

The Rabbitohs edged out the Raiders 26-24 in an error-riddled affair, but as Voss recalls, it was a brilliant Dugan that dominated the post-game discussion.

“A clean-skinned Josh Dugan is the first thing that will strike you when you watch the game,” Voss told The Saturday Telegraph.

“The standout of this game, without question, is a young Dugan and how good he was.

“He was only 19 years old.

“Josh was awarded Canberra’s player of the year in his first season in 2009 and he was the Raiders’ go-to player only a season later.

“In fact, the Canberra backline was only young. Jarrod Croker was also 19, Joel Thompson was 21 and Daniel Vidot was on the wing as a 20-year-old.

Campese was a fabulously skilled player.

“But Dugan was great, with barely a tat on him as well.

“He was also fit and healthy – he was just fantastic.”

Voss also singled out Canberra five-eighth Terry Campese for a commanding performance against Souths.

Campese expertly controlled proceedings while he kicked four conversions.

“You also see the skills of Campese and think, ‘how was he not a 15 to 20 Origin player and Test match regular,” he said.

“He is a fabulously skilled player.”

Unfortunately, Campese’s class wasn’t enough to get Canberra home as the Rabbitohs pounced inspired by a plucky Luke from dummy half.

“Issac was only 22, but he was very good and close to being awarded the man of the match,” he said.

“From a South Sydney point of view, it was also great seeing Sam Burgess in his first season.

“He was only 21. This game isn’t a classic in the memory, but I think you will enjoy watching it.”

Originally published as Remembering the night Benji Marshall and Jarryd Hayne went to war