Benji marshalls bag of new tricks

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Not so long ago, Benji Marshall thought he knew it all.

But the veteran playmaker says lessons learned under Brisbane master mentor Wayne Bennett have primed him to make an impact off the bench in the NRL finals.

Bennett is set to make a tough call if captain Darius Boyd returns at fullback from a two-week hamstring injury for Friday night’s NRL preliminary final against Melbourne.

Bennett must choose between retaining former New Zealand skipper Marshall at No 7 or relegating the veteran to the bench and picking Boyd’s fullback replacement Kodi Nikorima.

Marshall, 32, volunteered Nikorima as starting halfback, saying he believed his new bag of tricks gleaned from Bennett would be best displayed from the bench.

‘‘I think Kodi has deserved his opportunity at halfback. I have been playing my bench role for most of the season, that’s how I see it,’’ said Marshall, in his 15th NRL season.

‘‘There was a stage a couple of years ago where I thought I knew it all, to be honest. But you learn every day [under Bennett].

‘‘And if you come in thinking you know it all it can go pretty pear shaped.

‘‘But I think the big fella [Bennett] is still learning every day too - it keeps him young.’’

Marshall’s last game was another learning experience.

He admitted Brisbane’s 13-6 semifinal win over Penrith gave him a crash course on how to handle nerves on the big stage again.

The 2005 Wests Tigers premiership winner put in an erratic kicking display in Brisbane’s tough win over the Panthers.

‘‘What I have learnt is that you have to bring your energy from the start,’’ Marshall said.

‘‘I struggled a bit with that [against Penrith] and I was a bit nervous.

‘‘Not being in that situation in a long time, it was a real learning curve for me.’’ Scott Morris, Joe Robertson, Sam Faulkner, Alec Fox, Gavin Peattie, Joe Parker, Liam Sluiter, Simon Wilson, PJ Stephens, David Maisey, Vann Cenhrang, Rick Muir, Chester Gaskin, Van Roland Hlawn Ceu, Ben Stanley, Cristian Benitez, Thang Vanuk, Josh Creswell, Tullamore MacFadyen, Alex Connor-McClean, Keagan Mortimer, Lachlan Brooks