Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall concedes he hasn’t done enough to warrant his contract extension and revealed the move won’t convince star playmaker Jarome Luai to remove the clauses out of his deal.
Despite finishing last and 13th in his two seasons in charge, Marshall re-signed until the end of 2030 in a bid to give the faction-ravaged club some stability. The only coach in the NRL offered more security is Cameron Ciraldo, who recently re-signed until the end of 2031.
West Tigers coach Benji Marshall at a press conference announcing his contract extension through to 2030.Credit: Janie Barrett
Marshall is the biggest beneficiary of the boardroom squabbles that have kept the Tigers in the headlines for a fortnight, despite three of the four directors who were originally sacked to return to their posts. The former Kiwi international said the latest round of off-field dramas came as a “shock” and that he “was put off”, but opted to stay put.
“I’ll be honest, I probably haven’t done [enough] in terms of performance to deserve the extension,” Marshall said on Friday.
“But if you look at the plan, and the vision, and the people we’ve brought in and where we’re going and the improvements, you probably beg to differ there.
“At the end of the day, I’m here ’til 2030. I back myself, the players we’ve got, the squad we’ve built. Like I said, the plan’s gonna stay the same.”
Benji Marshall on Friday.Credit: Janie Barrett
Only last month, Jarome Luai reiterated that Marshall was the man to lead the club forward. However, Luai has get-out clauses in his contract that could result in him leaving at the end of next season, and Marshall said they were there to stay.
“I’ve done a lot of player management in the past week around where we’re going as a club, just to reassure the players that the same vision I sold to them before they came here is still the same,” Marshall said.
“I’ve sat down with Jarome at length about where we’re going, and he’s fully committed to the club – like fully committed.
“And he copped a lot of flak for the clauses he had in his contract, and I’ll be honest, those clauses are not going anywhere. But he’s given his full commitment to our side, OK.
“If there’s anyone I trust in our team the most, it’s that player.”
Asked if those clauses were staying to safeguard against further political instability, Marshall said: “Ask him that. It’s not my decision to say.”
The long-term future of fullback Jahream Bula, who has a mutual option in his contract, is also clouded. Negotiations to keep him continue.
“Yeah, we’re working really hard on making that happen,” Marshall said.
“I don’t usually talk about recruitment, but I’ll be honest, you don’t know with these decisions, but I am confident that he will stay, and we’re doing everything possible to keep him.”
Marshall said the team wouldn’t use the ownership distractions as an excuse, but admitted the club could do without them.
“Oh yeah, it always hurts when you go through something that’s tough, especially when it affects the fans and the members and a lot of people,” he said.
“We’re humans at the end of the day, so you can’t hide from it. The only thing you can do is have a plan to move forward, which we do, and that plan for us hasn’t changed.
“And my job is to get the players in a position to give our fans something to cheer about and that’s what we’re doing, that’s why I’m standing here. I didn’t really want to have this [press conference], to be honest, but at the end of the day we’re here and we’re moving forward.”
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