BENJI’S BEST EXTENDS EELS AGONY
BENJI Marshall has turned back the clock to lift Wests Tigers to a 30-20 victory over Parramatta and into the NRL’s top four.
In doubt during the week with an ankle injury, Marshall was at his lightfooted best yesterday as he had a hand in three of the Tigers’ five tries as they leapt to a 30-6 lead before the Eels recovered late.
After being one of the grittiest teams in the opening three rounds, the Tigers turned it on in the first hour as they almost tripled their try tally for the season.
The result kept the Eels in last place, the first time in the Brad Arthur era they’ve gone winless over the opening month and by far their most disappointing start in years given the pre-season hype.
Mitchell Moses had a day to forget against his old club. He kicked for Will Smith’s match-opening try but then made key defensive errors in the lead-up to two Tigers four-pointers.
However, his secondchoice replacement in the Tigers’ No.6 jersey - given Marshall is only replacing Josh Reynolds at five-eighth - was superb. Marshall got the Tigers on the board in the 15th minute when he jinked and stepped his way across the field to help Robbie Rochow surge over the left edge. He then gave the Tigers the lead when he threw a long cut-out ball for Kevin Naiqama to easily shrug off Moses and bounce across to make it 12-6.
After bamboozling Eels fullback Will Smith with a swirling bomb in the lead-up to the Tigers’ third, Marshall was at it again in the second half when he stepped past Josh Hoffman in his own half before putting Esan Marsters free for winger Corey Thompson to score.
The try was Thompson’s second in another impressive showing, while lock Matt Eisenhuth also scored the first try of his NRL career as the Tigers made light work of an Eels defence that’s now conceded 18 tries.
The Eels also lost hooker Kaysa Pritchard to a serious concussion, adding to a side that will still be without Jarryd Hayne and Clinton Gutherson for at least three more weeks and Bevan French for one.