BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Ahead of Wests Tigers’ first match of their 2024 campaign – the rugby league microscope firmly found itself on rookie coach Benji Marshall and his decision to start veteran recruit Aidan Sezer on the bench against his former club and promote 18-year-old Lachlan Galvin to the starting halves for his first taste of the National Rugby League.

What happened on Saturday at GIO Stadium had little do with how Galvin went.

The Raiders, coming off the back of an inspiring upset victory over the Newcastle Knights away from home the week before, were favourites and rightly so.

There were signs of life for Wests Tigers but a footy game is a long 80 minutes and 80 minutes is a longer time in the NRL.

A few decisions went against them but the Raiders rightfully ran out 32-12 winners.

Galvin was fine.

Lots was made last week after an article came out questioning how much time Marshall spends at training compared to other first grade coaches in the competition.

It was all a bit blown out of proportion and Marshall hit it with a straight push down the ground when asked at a media scrum.

“We come in before the players and work as hard as we can until we get everything done,” Marshall shot back.

“I prioritize my family from 5 to 8pm.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t care about my job.”

Good for Benji.

Whether he ends up any good at this whole NRL coaching thing doesn’t matter – he’ll do it his way and he’s already made his bed.

This is how he’s going to do it.

So we need to discuss his selections for their opener against the Raiders in Canberra because it’s all well and good selecting a future star in Galvin to start the game but his decision to drop Sezer back to the pine and slot Galvin next to former St George Illawarra utility Jayden Sullivan – in his first match for Wests Tigers – as his starting halfback.

Furthermore, if Benji thought Sullivan and Galvin were the best playmakers to start the season than you stick to your guns.

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Instead, he put Sezer in number 14.

Some would argue he was hedging his bets and as first grade players – rookie or otherwise – they know exactly who and why others are picked around them.

Wests Tigers struggled to push up defensively and lacked line speed for long periods of the match which allowed the Raiders forwards to rumble down field and dominate the middle which gave Sullivan, Galvin or Sezer little time to do anything of serious concern.

You can’t blame a half if his forwards are on the back foot and getting schooled.

Many in pre-season believed Sullivan would be a great foil over several positions but did anyone expect Benji to put him in the 7 jersey and think he’d just become a leader with an 18-year-old who’d never played in the NRL before on the other side of the field?

Didn’t Wests Tigers sign Sezer to do that exact job until Jarome Luai arrives?

The way Wests Tigers spluttered in and out of the game shows more about how they were coached and prepared for the game than how their halves went.

After fifteen minutes of the second half, Sullivan was hooked for Sezer with Marshall admitting at the post-match press conference that he made the change because Sullivan was lacking direction, experience and conceded he left too much of the game for Sezer to chase.

Admission if you’ve ever heard it.

Which now leaves Benji Marshall, after one NRL game as a head coach, with a challenge some of the longest-serving bosses in the sport have difficulty rectifying.

He’s picked Galvin and now he needs to stick.

They’ve also made Sullivan and Sezer very confused as to what their jobs are over the coming weeks.

Especially if they keep losing.

@woodward_curtis

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