Benji Marshall has delivered one of his most pointed press-conference critiques of the season, accusing NRL match officials of inconsistent interpretation after Wests Tigers captain Api Koroisau was sin-binned during the club's Anzac Round victory over the Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt.
The Tigers fought back from behind at half-time to win a gritty, low-error second half, and Marshall was keen to celebrate the Anzac Round result, but he could not let Koroisau's binning pass without comment. "It's probably not a good time, but who cares," Marshall said. "The inconsistency of the refereeing is annoying me at the moment, to be honest. I know we won, but just some of the calls were just like hard to understand."
Koroisau was sent to the sin-bin for a cover tackle that caught a Raiders ball-runner's legs, a call Marshall was adamant did not warrant 10 minutes off the field. "Like even Api's case with the sin-bin, I don't know what he's supposed to do in that situation," he said. "He's making a cover tackle from behind. Where's he supposed to go? He's coming from behind, making a cover tackle where he has to tackle his legs. That's where he's going to end up. I don't think it was intentional. He did his 10 minutes, surely that's enough."
Pressed on whether a second Koroisau incident, a lifting tackle placed on report in the second half, could be challenged at the judiciary, Marshall was blunt. "Well, if it was up to me, probably would have challenged it," he said. "To be honest, I don't think it was that bad." Asked whether he was worried about Koroisau's cumulative record, already carrying three charges this season, Marshall refused to frame his captain's physical style as a problem. "We've got to play with aggression and passion. Otherwise, we shouldn't be playing."
Marshall still saved his strongest line for the fans. "I just think the fans deserve some consistency around the interpretations of the rules. They're not getting it."
Beyond the officiating, Marshall used the presser to throw his weight behind Adam Doueihi's Blues Origin push after Andrew Johns nominated the Tigers utility as his number 14 if he were picking the team tomorrow. "I thought it was his best game tonight, impact-wise, on positioning where he played in the team, setting up everyone else and putting himself in the picture, kicking game, controlling the game," Marshall said. "Andrew Johns is a pretty good judge of talent, I'd say. So if he's saying it, then yeah, put him in."
Marshall also saluted his captain's commitment through a short-turnaround run of games. "We've played four games in 17 days," he said. "It's credit to him because he's put his body through the wringer the last four weeks for us to be in this position. We're really proud that he's our skipper. He puts in the work, and everyone can see the way he plays is important to us."
Defensively, the Anzac Round victory was built on a new Tigers identity. "I've been happy with the defense probably out of all the aspects of our game to start the whole season," Marshall said. "Defense and the West Tigers haven't been synonymous previously, but we've made a massive effort in the preseason to make sure that it was this year."
He also took a moment to thank Australian service personnel on Anzac Round, saying the Tigers had made a point during the week of reflecting on the meaning of the occasion. For a coach whose side is suddenly tracking upwards, it was a press conference that mixed gratitude, swagger and a very public shot at the men with the whistle.
