T H E WAY BENJIMARSHALL
ESTSTIGERS
All hail the kingof the jungleW
HENyoulookbackattheplayers
whohaverepresentedtheWests
Tigers,yourmindautomaticallygoes
toguyslikeJohnSkandalis,BrettHodgson,
ScottPrinceandGarethEllis.Butif I hadtopick
theclub’sgreatestplayer,it’dbeRobbieFarah.
Intermsofcreativity,he’sthegreatesthooker
tohaveplayedthegame.Whenyoulookathis
attack,visionandabilitytoplaywhat’sinfront
ofhim,noonehasdoneit better.Hechanged
theNo.9rolewithwhathecoulddocreatively.
Thestylethatweplayedin 2005 wastomove
theball,anda lotofthatstartedaround
dummy-halfandhewastheguydoingit forus.
Whenyouthinkabouthowmanygames
he’sactuallyplayedfortheclub,he’satthe
top.Whenyoutalkaboutinfluenceanda guy
who’sgivennotjusthisbodybuthisheartto
thisclub– thatmeansmoretomethanthe
actualachievementsonthefield.
Thebestplayersaretheoneswhoinspire
others,andwhenyoutalkaboutwhyyouplay
thegame,it’sbecauseyouwantyourteam-mates
saytheywanttoplaywithyoueveryweek.Robbie
istheguyeveryonewantstoplaywithbecause
he’ssocompetitiveineverythinghedoesand
youcanseehowmuchit meanstohim.
Whensomeonecares,it makesyou
wanttogotothesamelevel.He’sinspired
metobebettereveryweekjustwithhow
competitiveheisandhowheapproachesthe
game.I’msoluckytohaveplayedasmany
gamesalongsidehimasI have.
Robbiehasachievedsomuchonandoffthe
fieldaheadofhis300thgamethisweek,soit’s
probablyunfairtochoosemyfavouritemoment.
However,I can’tgopastwhathedida coupleof
daysagoif I neededsomethingthatperfectly
summed up his attitude towards the club.
I thoughttheymadea reallybigdealof
my300tha fewweeksago.Theydida lotof
thingsonsocialmedia,a lotofpresentations
andmediacommitments.ButRobbiecamein
earlierintheweekand‘Madge’(coachMichael
Maguire)saidthatwehadtoliftforhis300th.
Robbiestoodupandsaid‘No,I don’twant
totalkaboutit – I don’twantthisweekto
beaboutmy300thgame,I justwantto
win.Thisisn’taboutmymilestone- I justwanttomakethesemis,and
if wedon’twin,we’regone.I’drather
winthanhavepeopleworryabout
meplaying 300 games’.I think
thatspeaksvolumesofwhere
he’satandhowhetreatsthisclub.
Peoplesayit’sa shamethathe
didn’tgettoplayhiswholecareer
attheTigers,butI don’tseeit thatway.
I’msurehewouldhavelovedtohavestayed,
butsometimesyou’vegottomakechangesor
betakenoutofyourcomfortzonetorealise
howmuchit meanstoyou.Then,whenyou
comeback,it meanssomuchmoretoyou.
Thereasonwe’replayingwiththepassion
wehavebeenisbecausewehadtohavethat
takenawayfromustoappreciateit more.
Hemaynotwantustousehismilestone
asmotivationonFriday,butwhenwerunout,
thosethoughtsabouthowmuchhe’sdone
fortheclubwillbeatthebackofmymind.
Seeinghowmuchit meanttohimformeto
play 300 games,I wanttorepaythat.Hegot
upandspokeatmypresentationandsaid
a lotofnicethingsaboutme,soI feel
likeI oweit tohimtogooutand
havea goodperformanceand
trytowinbecauseweneedtoif
we want to make the finals. PHOTO:
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