Sixteen years on from his first premiership decider, Benji Marshall’s great grand final secret from 2005 can now be revealed.
Benji was the cheeky youngster who captured the imagination of the league world when, playing at five-eighth, he threw possibly the most famous pass in grand final history for Pat Richards’ try as the Tigers downed the Cowboys on the big night.
Right?
Well – only half so.
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Reflecting on Benji’s journey from boy to man, then Tigers coach Tim Sheens – the man who plotted the Tigers’ impossible dream – has decided to come clean on the 16 year old secret.
“No one noticed and we kept it very quiet, but Benji actually played half of that game on the wing and not at five-eighth,” Sheens told Wide World of Sports.
“He was just a slight kid then and had already undergone a couple of shoulder operations and we knew the Cowboys would target him.
“So we moved him to the wing when we were in defence. We trained that way all week and kept it hidden from the media because we obviously didn’t want the Cowboys to know.
“That’s how he set up that try for Patty Richards. They kicked deep to Brett Hodgson at fullback and he passed the ball to Benji … and off he went.
“A few people have asked ‘what the bloody hell was Benji doing back there’ … well now you know.”
Sheens spotted Marshall as a schoolboy playing on the Gold Coast and quickly realised the kid was the fast feet was something special.
He signed Marshall to a long term deal in 2002 and the following year – while still at school – Marshall made his debut for the Tigers.
By 2005, the NRL was gripped by ‘Benji-mania’ as Sheens and his unheralded Tigers – 150-1 shots at the start of the season – scored a stunning premiership win.
Currently in England waiting to return to Australia – and ironically back to the Tigers – Sheens has admired Marshall’s second coming.
“The game has changed so much in 16 years but kudos to Benji, he has changed and adapted with it,” the former Kangaroos coach said.
“He isn’t the brash young kid with the blistering speed any more but he is a mature player with fine ball skills and he might just get himself a second premiership on Sunday – who would have thought?”
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