To Benji, the legend who inspired a generation

However the likely retirement of Benji Marshall, after Sunday's NRL Grand Final, triggered one particular memory.

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Back in 2007 I was eagerly participating in a school rugby league gala day. Although I didn't play footy regularly I was a big fan and jumped at the opportunity to lace up the boots.

I was/am a big fella and having received the ball from a kick-off, decided to just put my head down and head for the try line. Anyone familiar with junior sport will know that sizes can vary as people grow and these particular 12-year-olds trying to bring me down had yet to receive much of a growth spurt.

Feeling quite chuffed as I approached the line, I did something spontaneously that there really was no need for. I added a Benji-esque sidestep before diving over the line.

Not that I have to try hard to look like an idiot but I reckon I looked especially odd that cold Canberra afternoon.

Two years after setting up that try in the 2005 decider, Benji's influence could still be seen in schoolyards across Australia and New Zealand. Term 4 in 2005 was all about Benji and the Tigers. Nobody cared if you could kick, outsprint or barge your way to four points. If you could step or flick pass, you were the man.

It's often hard to appreciate someone's legacy even years after they have retired, let alone whilst they are still playing.

But Benji inspired an entire generation.

I was 10 at the time of the Wests Tigers' triumph over North Queensland and that 80 minutes hooked me for life. Too young to remember the damage and bad blood that oozed out of the game during the Super League War, Benji's skill and finesse was my first lasting impression.

In fact, my grandfather sent me a message this week, recalling how obsessed I was with Benji and the Tigers after that game. I still walk around the house sidestepping and practicing flicks almost like it's a muscle memory.

Although I can only speak from an Australian perspective it would be remiss not to touch on the effect he had in his homeland.

League is often the forgotten child of Kiwi sport, but Benji was an icon and pioneer in much the same vein as Olsen Filipaina and Stacey Jones before him. His performances in the finals of the 2008 World Cup (New Zealand's first) and 2010 Four Nations are that of a man fulfilling destiny.

So as we gather around screens to watch Sunday's decider let's pause and reflect on one of the great rugby league careers. But to me and so many of my generation, he was more than a great player, he was the player.

Enjoy your retirement when it comes Benji.

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