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Having broken the mould as a player, Benji Marshall plans to do likewise with the clipboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just not really a typical head coach, I don\u2019t reckon,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cI\u2019m away from it. I\u2019m not 24-7 coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like people to be themselves. I just want to create an environment where people want to be and they want to play for you and give their best.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably it. The Xs and Os to me, they don\u2019t matter as much as making the players feel confident in their ability and wanting to play for the club and doing their best every time they put the jersey on. That\u2019s probably more important for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marshall revolutionised the game during his playing days. The left-foot step. The flick pass. The confidence to make audacious plays under pressure that no other playmaker had the courage to attempt. From Tim Sheens, he learnt how to analyse a game and break down a defence.<\/p>\n
His other great mentor, Wayne Bennett, taught him that you get the best out of people when you create the right environment. While he will heed those lessons, Marshall will put his own spin on the job in his first year as Wests Tigers head coach.<\/p>\n
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Benji Marshall is going to do it his way as Wests Tigers coach.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I mean about \u2018different\u2019,\u201d Marshall explained. \u201cI don\u2019t make it about me, everything we do is about the team. When I said I\u2019m not your normal coach, I don\u2019t feel like I am. I retired two years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve come from playing 20 years in the NRL and got a lot of different ideas and I\u2019m gonna do things a little bit differently to probably what most coaches do. But, at the end of the day, it\u2019s all about team first.\u201d<\/p>\n Marshall made his NRL debut while still a precocious teenager. A more conservative coach may have shackled him, but Sheens allowed his young five-eighth to express himself on and off the park. It\u2019s the same environment the former Golden Boot winger wants to foster for his players, particularly exciting young halves Latu Fainu and Jayden Sullivan.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you sign players, you\u2019re always looking for that X-factor, looking for what they can do a little bit differently or how they create space for others or how they run the footy,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith both of those guys, they both have a lot of talent, a lot to offer. I think probably they are only at the beginning of what they\u2019ve been able to give so far.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really important we create an environment where they can not only grow as players but be themselves and come out of their shell. If they\u2019re cocky and confident, be cocky and confident. But work hard.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s basically all I\u2019m looking for from those guys; it\u2019s to be able to be themselves, take their strengths as players and implement it into how it fits into our team.\u201d<\/p>\n The stereotypical NRL coach is a megalomaniac, forever working from sunrise to well after sunset. Marshall won\u2019t be taking the cookie-cutter approach.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople might think it\u2019s probably a bit different, but I don\u2019t like everything being about me and what I do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to try and coach players to play like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I do like doing is empowering other staff to do their job and give them responsibilities and accountability to do their jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned that off Wayne. It\u2019s really important not to delve into every role and every job and be over the top of everything.<\/p>\n \u201cIn our [coaching] team Robbie [Farah] looks after the attack, John [Morris] looks after the defence, Chris [Heighington] will do the forwards and our effort areas and I\u2019ll oversee the overarching theme of the way we want to play.<\/p>\n \u201cOther than that, I let them do their jobs and have their say. They\u2019re very experienced and very good at what they do. You don\u2019t wanna overdo it but again, I also don\u2019t want to come in and become a head coach and do it someone else\u2019s way.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanna do it the way I wanna do it. The way I see it working is the way I\u2019m gonna do things.\u201d<\/p>\n Benji Marshall during his playing days.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>SMH<\/cite><\/p>\n Marshall boils down his overriding philosophy to just two words: Team first.<\/p>\n The 38-year-old has also promised to give his players the unvarnished truth. If it means dropping a highly paid player, because they are not putting in at training, then so be it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I will say is that I\u2019ve learnt that people don\u2019t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s probably the biggest thing. I make a real conscious effort to get to know our players and make sure they feel comfortable enough to me that they\u2019re not scared to talk to me about things, whether it\u2019s life or footy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a good enough relationship where I just tell the truth. If you\u2019re fit, I\u2019ll say you\u2019re fit. If you\u2019re unfit, I\u2019ll tell you you\u2019re unfit. That\u2019s all I know.\u201d<\/p>\n There is no bigger challenge than the one Marshall is undertaking; a rookie coach inheriting a side that has finished the past two seasons in last place. Complicating matters further is an independent review that could potentially result in an overhaul of a maligned board and executive structure.<\/p>\n Yet perhaps the most intriguing narrative is whether Marshall will get frustrated when his charges can\u2019t perform the way he was able to on the field.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to try and coach players to play like me,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s fair. I don\u2019t even think it\u2019s relevant for our players because a lot of them play differently to how I played. I want them to be themselves and look at their strengths and how that fits into our game, not make them play like me.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, I can give them tips and tools about how to beat a defender or how to count numbers on the short side. I can give you all those things, that\u2019s fine, but I\u2019m not going to try and make any of them play like me.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s unfair, but I do have a process of how I want us to play and what that looks like.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that process they\u2019ll be able to use their strengths and their abilities to shine throughout it. Again, it\u2019s not about me and it\u2019s the same for Robbie, it\u2019s the same for John.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want players to play how we play, we want them to fit into our system, but play with their strengths. That\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary.<\/i><\/b> Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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