Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.
FLOGGED in his final Wests Tigers game, jeered by fans for wearing an Auckland Rugby Union jumper and now dumped by New Zealand.
Brisbane Broncos: Alex Glenn, Josh Hoffman
St George Illawarra: Dragons: Bronson Harrison, Jason Nightingale
Penrith Panthers: Lewis Brown, Sam McKendry, Dean Whare
New Zealand Warriors: Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai, Kevin Locke, Simon Mannering, Ben Matulino, Sam Rapira, Elijah Taylor, Manu Vatuvei
Wests Tigers: Adam Blair, Tim Simona
The Benji Marshall era in rugby league has come to a sad and forgettable end.
On Wednesday, Marshall was overlooked for New Zealand's 17-man train-on squad to contest this year's World Cup in England.
His axing comes a week after Wests Tigers' limp 50-22 final round loss to North Queensland in Townsville - Marshall's last NRL game.
Marshall walked out of Concord in controversial circumstances after inexplicably donning an Auckland Blues jumper to promote the Super Rugby franchise.
"It is a sad end to his rugby league career," said Tigers legend Garry Jack.
"It is disappointing but Benji has to take some responsibility. He did the Auckland Blues video and walked out on his Tigers contract.
"I have no sympathy, no. He has been a great clubman for the Tigers but when your heart's not in it, that reflects in your performances."
The NZRL claimed Marshall was unavailable for the World Cup.
Yet, less than a month ago, Marshall claimed he wanted played in the rugby league World Cup.
"Absolutely," he said.
"It's something that I have always done proudly throughout my career. That is to represent New Zealand.
"One of the proudest moments of my life was being captain of New Zealand. Yeah, absolutely."
On form, Marshall — a former New Zealand skipper with 27 Test caps — was always going to struggle for selection, particularly with Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran in such sparkling form.
But to miss the train-on squad is embarrassing.
"I think the writing was on the wall earlier this year when Benji wasn't picked in the Kiwi's 17-man squad," said former Tigers and New Zealand halfback Gary Freeman.
"It was always going to be tough for him to get back in. You always want to go out on a high and when you don't it's tough."
Wests Tigers CEO Grant Mayer was also surprised of Marshall's omission.
"It is disappointing for Benji," he said.
"He has been an outstanding player for his team and country. I'm sure he will bitterly disappointed."
A NZRL press release stated Marshall "informed the selectors that his impending move to rugby union would rule him out of the tournament."
"We're naturally disappointed to not have Benji available for World Cup selection," said New Zealand convener of selectors, Tony Iro.
"But we understand the circumstances and wish him well. He'll always be a Kiwi brother and he has done wonders not only for rugby league in New Zealand, but the game in general.
"Benji stood proud as a New Zealander at a time when there was plenty of interest in convincing him to commit elsewhere.
"His dedication to his country set an example to those coming through. He was a key part of the Kiwis team that won New Zealand's first ever rugby league World Cup in 2008 and he followed that up with a starring role, as captain, in our 2010 Four Nations win.
"He'll be missed, but we believe we have players in the halves that are ready to deliver in this World Cup tournament."
The train-on squad comes from players in clubs who missed the NRL semi-finals.
The Kiwi selectors - Richie Barnett, Ivan Cleary, Stephen Kearney and Tawera Nikau - will add to the squad in coming weeks as teams are eliminated from the finals. Iro will also contribute.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Benji flogged, jeered and dumped
Dengan url
http://sportfoxer.blogspot.com/2013/09/benji-flogged-jeered-and-dumped.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Benji flogged, jeered and dumped
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Benji flogged, jeered and dumped
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar