Marshall should be in Kiwis frame: Cleary

He jumped on the bus, now Benji Marshall deserves to get on the plane.

That’s the belief of Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary, who insists his reborn playmaker deserves to be in the running for selection in New Zealand’s test against England in Denver.

A 33-year-old Marshall has wound back the clock in his trumpeted return to the Tigers, spearheading the club into the top four with five wins in their opening six matches.

It’s a vein of form that has the former Kiwis skipper in line for a possible recall — almost six years after his last appearance in the black and white jumper.

Asked what he thought of Marshall’s selection chances for the Kiwis in June, Cleary said: “You’d think they’d have to be fairly good. I’m not picking the team, but he’s experienced and passionate about the Kiwis. And he’s playing well. If he keeps that up, surely he’d have to be in the running there somewhere.”

Cleary also admitted the club has yet to enter discussions with the 2005 premiership winner on possibly extending a contract that expires at the end of the season.

He said Marshall had regained confidence following a challenging period that began with his messy split from the Tigers in 2013 and involved stints in rugby, the Dragons and Broncos. Cleary said it was difficult to predict how long Marshall could play on for.

“He’s also at that time in his career, that age, where it’s hard to forecast,” he said. “As long as you’re feeling good about training, want to turn up each day and make the sacrifices you need to play well on the weekends, there’s no reason why he couldn’t keep going. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be up to Benji.”

With Josh Reynolds this week ruled out for up to a month with a shoulder injury, Tigers officials are set to get an extended look at Marshall in the halves.

“We weren’t sure how that was going to pan out, but it’s always going to be nice to have a guy like Benji. The way it’s turned out, it’s going well at the moment,” Cleary said.