The face of NRL in 2011, superstar Benji Marshall
talks about his great career, growing up in New Zealand, his move to Australia,
and his storybook entry into the game.
Many lovers of rugby
league, on both sides of the Tasman, have long been convinced that Benji Marshall
is the best player in the world. That view was confirmed early in 2011 when he
was awarded the prestigious 2010 Golden Boot - the international prize for the
best player in the game. He is the first Wests Tigers player to win this award,
and only the third New Zealander.
Despite being only 26, he
has crammed an awful lot into his career so far. Marshall's talent was spotted
while he was only 16 years old, and still at school in New Zealand, when he was
offered a scholarship to play for a high school on the Gold Coast.
From
then on it has been a fast track to the very pinnacle of the game. He made his
debut with the Wests Tigers NRL club in 2003 at the age of 18, and has been with
the club ever since. He was a member of the Wests premiership-winning team in
2005 and, despite a string of injuries - including major shoulder surgery twice!
- his star has continued to rise. His performances in recent years have left critics
and fans around the world breathless.
In this book Marshall
talks about his great career, and gives the inside story of rugby at the highest
level; and also his childhood in New Zealand - he was raised without his biological
father, his move to Australia, and his storybook entry into the game.
Glenn
Jackson is a sports reporter with the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, specialising in rugby
league. He lives in Sydney, and this is his first book.
'Benji'
is available now.
