2 weeks Ago
Benji Marshall was visibly lost and frustrated with the NRL’s sin bin crackdown, but conceded his side need to be better after their 46-24 loss to the Broncos in Round 5. Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports.
New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Broncos forward Brendan Piakura and Tigers centre Starford To’a were both sin-binned in the game taking the total to six sin bins over Round 5 to date and Marshall was as lost as some fans and other coaches in summing it up.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Marshall said. “That’s probably the best answer I can give and also we’re on the end of a loss, so probably ask the winning coach. I don’t want to sound like a whinger.
” Tigers skipper Api Koroisau was asked his opinion before Marshall stepped in. “He doesn’t know, he’s got nothing to say,” Marshall interjected. Marshall preferred to stick with the positives and was proud of his team for scoring three tries to two in the first half before letting the lead slip at half-time.
“I thought we came out with real good intent and executed the way we wanted to play in the first half and I’m really proud of the guy’s effort,” Marshall said. “I think what I learned tonight is we’ve got a team that when we get it right, we can do some good things. “And then 40/20 after half-time, chip and chase from Reynolds, but in saying that, I’m proud of my team.
” MORE NRL NEWS BIG HITS: Reynolds’ blow sours Broncos win as Tigers’ halves injury crisis deepens BIG HITS: Hammer silences critics; High shot crackdown stings Titans ‘DEADSET LOTTERY’: Flanno hints at ref frustration following Eels loss Marshall conceded his team needs to be tougher each side of half-time to stay in the contest for longer periods. “I thought the first half was really good,” Marshall said. “Probably the last five minutes of the first half, not so good, but up until that try from dummyhalf and then the field goal, I thought we probably deserved to be up by a few more points, to be honest, but that’s footy.
“Half-time we had a chance to come out and the 40/20 caught us off guard and they scored and then the chip and chase and then the game was done.” The Broncos ran away with the scoreline in the second half, but Marshall doesn’t believe it reflected the closeness of the contest. “I think the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it,” Marshall said.
“You’re talking about specifically the points, but there are moments in the game where we got put under scoreboard pressure and we’re chasing the win and we made errors, which gives them more field position. “If you’re in the game, you complete more sets and you go toe-to-toe with the cycle of the game. “But when you’re chasing points, you start forcing your hand a bit and forcing errors, and that’s what we did.
“So it’s credit to them, they’re a really good side. Honestly, probably top three, four in the comp, a chance of winning this year, so they outclassed us in the end, but our boys showed some really good fight and there’s a lot as a coach I can take away from it.” Jahream Bula was arguably best on ground for the Tigers, but Marshall believes he isn’t alone in giving his coach and the club and its fans great optimism for the future.
“I think his development’s been great,” Marshall said. “We love having him in our team and that goes for a lot of our team. As a club I feel like we’re moving in the right direction.
Things are improving. “We’re two from five at the moment, so we’ve got a big game again this week.”.
