Pathways plan for Marshall takeover

THE Wests Tigers are building a five-year pathways plan to help ensure the club’s best young talent will be ready for when Benji Marshall takes over as coach.

Marshall will be an assistant and understudy to Tim Sheens over the next two seasons before taking over as coach of the Tigers in 2025.

The club’s head of pathways, Matt Betsey, said the Tigers’ focus on junior development would play a crucial role in Marshall’s success at Concord.

It will start with the development of the joint-venture’s premiership-winning Harold Matthews side, which has some of the hottest rising prospects in the game, including Tallyn Da Silva, Jordan Miller, Jeremiah Leatigaga, Kit Laulilii, Lachlan Galvin and James Folaumoetui.

“We’re looking at the 17 and 18-year-olds, so when Benji takes over in a couple of years he has the best of our local talent, the best on offer to build the roster he needs at the NRL level,” Betsey said.

“The Wests Harold Matthews team that won the premiership this year, they lead that group of players and we have worked hard to lock them in for the next couple of seasons. They will get a taste of NRL training over the next couple of years and be ready to go in two or three years.”

It’s understood Marshall even met with the managers of the club’s rising talent to get guarantees they would commit to the Tigers long-term.

Marshall has also taken a hands-on approach in a bid to foster a relationship with the youngsters as part of the Tigers’ cubs program.

“He went to all their training sessions, he worked with all the players,” Betsey said.

“The halves in particular, just started to build a connection with them and pass on some knowledge.”