Benji off to play in Super League?
Kiwis veteran Benji Marshall is reportedly considering a move to England as another potential high profile recruit to Super League.
Marshall, 35, is off contract at Wests Tigers at the end of the season, and has previously said he will let his body decide if he plans to play on in 2021.
England’s League Express website has now claimed Marshall’s ‘‘name has been touted around’’ to several Super League clubs in the past few weeks.
Marshall, a NRL winner with Wests Tigers in 2001 and a Rugby League World Cup champion with the Kiwis in 2008, would be the latest in a series of high profile recruits if he does decide to extend his career in England.
Dual rugby codes internationals Sonny Bill Williams (Toronto Wolfpack) and Israel Folau (Catalans Dragons) joined Super League clubs this year, and former Queensland and Kangaroos star Greg Inglis has signed for the Warrington Wolves for the 2021 season.
Marshall has played more than 300 NRL games since his debut for the Tigers in 2003. He left Leichhardt Oval in 2013 for a shortlived Super Rugby stint with the Blues, but returned to the NRL and played for the Dragons and the Broncos before rejoining the Tigers in 2018.
After a strong season in 2019 under Tigers and Kiwis coach Michael Maguire, Marshall signed a new one-year deal for 2020.
The Tigers’ co-captain was in dynamic form in the first two rounds before the competition was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The League Express report stated that Marshall ‘‘may be forced out of the Tigers due to salary cap issues’’.
That had prompted his representatives ‘‘to offer him to Super League clubs’’, the report said.
Marshall would ‘‘command a big salary’’ in Super League, the report said, but ‘‘most clubs will be wary of making an early move’’ due to the financial situation caused by the pandemic.
Several Super League clubs are expected to have vacancies for halves, with Australian Albert Kelly set to leave Hull FC and several others, including Marshall’s former Kiwis teammate Thomas Leuluai (Wigan) to be off-contract at the end of this year.