Younger half has Benji’s blessing
BENJI Marshall has declared Brisbane need to show faith in young gun Kodi Nikorima and hand him back the No. 7 jersey for Friday’s clash with Melbourne.
Nikorima has starred at fullback for the Broncos over the past two weeks while skipper Darius Boyd was sidelined with a hamstring injury. During that time, Marshall led the team around from halfback and Broncos great Darren Lockyer yesterday called for the former Kiwi international to retain the position.
But Marshall feels the jersey belongs to Nikorima.
While the veteran playmaker is happy to play wherever coach Wayne Bennett puts him on Friday night, he says the club needs to show 23- year- old Nikorima that it has the confidence in him to do the job against the Storm.
“Throughout his career he’s played a lot of different positions and had that utility tag, which can be tough,” Marshall said.
“He’s decided in his own mind that he wants to be halfback for however many years to come. That’s a good thing for him.
“( To show confidence in him) it’s big for someone like Kodi.
“When he has started at halfback for us, our results have been ridiculous, like 11 out of 12 ( wins). He’s built his game this season to be better and better.
“If I’m not starting and he is, I will be more than happy for him because he deserves that chance.”
Marshall trained at halfback and Nikorima at fullback yesterday, but only because Boyd missed the session at Red Hill for personal reasons.
It is understood Boyd will definitely play on Friday night, with Bennett to make his decision on Nikorima and Marshall today.
Marshall said if he was selected in the 17, he expected he would be used off the bench in the utility role that he has taken on six times this season.
“If Darius comes back, hopefully ( I’ll be) on the bench,” he said. “I’ve been a little bit inconsistent the last couple of weeks, which is probably off the back of playing two 80- minute games in the last two months.”
The first time he actually took on that utility role for Brisbane was in Round 3 when the Broncos lost 14- 12 to the Storm.
He said all he can remember is how exhausted he was after the thrilling showdown and – while he does not want to play in the middle again – he expects a similar intensity come Friday night.
“I remember how tired I was because ( Bennett) made me play in the middle, which is somewhere I have never played in my whole career,” he said.
“I had to play hooker and had Jesse Bromwich and ( Nelson) Asofa- Solomona running at me every set. I was tired. That’s all I remember.”