Benji Marshall must ‘be humble and play tough’, says Brad Fittler
TIME is ticking on Benji Marshall to forget about what he used to be worth and accept the $300,000 offer put to him by St George Illawarra.
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TIME is ticking on Benji Marshall to forget about what he used to be worth and accept the $300,000 offer put to him by St George Illawarra with good grace.
Or else the former Golden Boot winner just might be left without an NRL home next season as the Dragons prepare to move on.
In the wake of Saturday night’s 36-0 smashing by North Queensland, The Daily Telegraph can reveal that St George Illawarra put their final offer to Marshall’s new agent Mario Tartak last week — and there will be no price rise on offer going forward.
While no deadline was set, the Dragons want an answer sooner rather than later.
The man in charge of St George Illawarra’s recruitment Ian Millward told The Daily Telegraph: “We only met his new agent during the week and he has asked for a little bit of time.
“Obviously both parties will have to determine what is best for each other.”
The club’s stance could not have come at a worse possible time for Marshall following his performance on Saturday night that copped a hammering from playmaking greats Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler.
Fittler declared it was time for Marshall “to be humble and play tough”, while Johns described the Dragons’ attack as “awful” and “terrible”.
When it was first revealed that the Dragons had only offered Marshall $300,000 for next year, the 31-year-old scoffed at the price tag.
But on the back of his form showed on Saturday night, it is hard to see how any other club would come up with more money, regardless of Marshall’s star power off the field.
Already Cronulla, Melbourne and Wests Tigers have publicly stated that Marshall is not in their plans.
After Saturday night’s game coach Paul McGregor threatened if the team’s attack didn’t improve fast, he would make changes.
After playing in the Dragons’ wins over Souths and Penrith, it is understood Josh McCrone travelled to Townsville as cover for Marshall but didn’t play.
The Dragons are staying in Queensland to prepare for this week’s game against the Broncos on Thursday night.
It would be a huge call for McGregor to drop Marshall after his one game back from injury.
But Johns was scathing in his assessment of the Dragons’ attack and Marshall’s sideways play, that on one occasion resulted in him being turfed into touch while in possession.
Compared to the way Johnathan Thurston controlled the Cowboys, Johns said they were “light years” apart.
“Thurston controlled the game,” Johns said.
“If something wasn’t on, he wouldn’t go and shift the ball for the sake of shifting it. He would wait for a quick play the ball or when the defensive line was short.
“The other mob on the other hand were awful.
“They weren’t flat, they were awful.
“They were terrible.
“Your job as a half is to attract defenders to come to you to make room for your outside men.
“At the moment Benji is not doing that.
“It is all across field and they are moving the ball for the sake of moving the ball.
“They didn’t put the Cowboys’ defence under any stress.”
Fittler added: “He is at the final crossroad in his footy career.
“He is at the age where he has got one more decision to make.
“He got asked the other day about an offer of $300,000 and I think he sort of laughed it off a little bit.
“I’m not sure how to judge what he was thinking at the time.
“But I think right at this time he needs to be humble and he needs to play tough.
“He needs to train hard and get fit ... his best asset is that he has got a lot of charisma and when he is playing tough everyone just follows him.”
Originally published as Benji Marshall must ‘be humble and play tough’, says Brad Fittler
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