Doing it 'Benji-style': Nikorima ready to face mentor Marshall

As a friend and former teammate, Kodi Nikorima is not surprised to see Wests Tigers defying expectations under Benji Marshall, the man who took him under his wing at Brisbane.

While fully focused on “playing Dolphins footy” to continue his side's top-of-the-table run, Nikorima was full of praise for his former mentor Marshall, who played alongside him at the Broncos under his now current coach, Wayne Bennett.

“They're a tough side the Tigers and they're playing that way because that starts with their coach," Nikorima said.  “He's obviously a new coach, but I've played alongside Benji, I know how smart he is.

“I know that those young boys that are there look up to him, he's been there, he's won a comp with the Tigers, he's Tigers through and through.

“He's got good assistant coaches there, Robbie Farah and Johnny Morris is there too, so I'm not surprised at how well they're going.

“Just the way he speaks, you can tell he's got the knowledge for the game. I didn’t know about head coaching (as a career for him), but I knew he'd do a fine job in some sort of coaching way. And to his credit, he's here now and he's doing a terrific job with his team, so kudos to him.

"I dare say he probably takes some stuff out of Wayne's book, but I feel like he's just been true to who he is and is doing it Benji-style.

“Obviously he's had coaches over the years where he probably could pick their brain a little bit, but from what I see, he's pretty much just been himself and doing what Benji does and it's just up to the players around him to to buy into whatever he wants to be honest.”

Although a Tigers legend, Marshall has many links to the Dolphins, having played under his own mentor Bennett and alongside Nikorima at the Broncos, as well as with Dolphins squad member Anthony Milford.

The former Māori All Stars representative also featured alongside with the Bromwich brothers Jesse and Kenny and Dolphins winger Jamayne Isaako as part of the New Zealand Kiwis set up.

Marshall himself also played three games with Cup affiliate the Redcliffe Dolphins and as player #727, scored two tries in his stint with the club in 2017.

However, the strongest link is with Marshall’s younger brother Jeremy Marshall-King, who has been in fine form since joining the Dolphins last season.

The siblings set to become only the second set of brothers to face off as a coach and a player after Tony and Brian Smith. As players, they went head-to-head five times, with younger brother Jeremy holding a 3-2 advantage.

“No, not really; I'm not going to worry about it too much,” Marshall-King said when asked if there was a friendly family rivalry being ignited before the match-up.

“It's just another game I've got to prep for and make sure we come away with the win and do my job.

“I think we've just got to do what we do best.

“We know that we need to start fast in every game we play.

“We can't start like what we did (against the Titans last round) against any other team, so we have got to make sure we start fast every game.

“It's still early in the rounds, so it's a long, long season, we’ve just got to keep getting better.”

While Marshall has plenty of connections and strong relationships with people at the Dolphins, he said he didn’t expect a call from Bennett this week, despite being able to go to him for advice any other time of the year.

It was the same situation last season when then assistant coach Marshall took the reins for the Round 25 match against the Dolphins, which the Tigers subsequently won by an Api Koroisau penalty goal after the siren.