Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire opted not to re-sign Benji Marshall because he concluded he could not fix his side’s defensive issues while the club legend was still in his squad, according to Steve 'Blocker' Roach.
Maguire’s decision not to re-sign the 35-year-old playmaker raised serious questions among fans and pundits.
Marshall’s Tigers career ended with a knee injury last month but the 324-game veteran is adamant he wants to return for a 19th NRL campaign in 2021.
It is no secret the New Zealand international’s defence is not the strength of his game.
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However, Balmain legend Roach has revealed the extent of Maguire’s concern’s over Marshall’s defensive issues and the effect he feared the veteran's presence would have on the growth of his squad in future seasons.
“A lot of people would be thinking why dk Madge Maguire get rid of Benji Marshall?” Roach told The Matty Johns Podcast.
“Well I know the reason and the reason is, Benji’s defence wasn’t what Michael Maguire’s trying to build this team on.
“So he said to me, ‘If I’d have signed Benji’ - and I could understand this when he explained it to me because I was thinking who’s going to come in that’s going to be better? If you’re going to buy someone to come in he’s got to be better than what you’ve got.
“But what he said was, ‘If I signed Benji for another two years, he’s 35 now, he’s 37 at the end of it, I am in exactly the same spot defensively in two years’ time as I am now’.
“So he’s made a decision, not on Benji’s ability or what he can do for the club ... he said to me, ‘Mate I sick of when we winning, when we win, I’m sick of winning 38-32’.”
The Tigers finished Maguire’s second season in charge in 11 position on the NRL ladder and will sit out the finals series for the ninth straight year.
Meanwhile, Marshall was last week linked with the Sharks but is yet to officially find a new NRL home for 2021.
