Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall says he never thought about quitting during the Adam Doueihi fiasco, but admitted his job has started to affect his private life.
Doueihi stunned NRL fans last week after withdrawing himself from the Canberra clash as reports emerged he was set to walk out of the club amid culture concerns and a strained relationship with Marshall.
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While Doueihi didn’t really go into what his concerns were surrounding the culture at the Tigers when speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, Marshall opened up about the toll the saga had taken on his family.
“I don’t think anyone’s had this baptism of fire to probably start their coaching career, but also I took this job on knowing that it’s going to be challenging,” Marshall said.
“I’ll be honest. I’ve got to the point where if it’s going to affect my life away from it, I wouldn’t do it with my kids and that.
“This week I felt like it started to do that. It’s just a reminder for me that I have to separate my work from home, and I also have to be able to give both things equal love. It’s been tough.”
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Marshall is currently in his third season as Tigers head coach and he has a winning record of just 32.84 per cent.
His record was getting better until the Tigers went on their current six-match losing streak.
The 41-year-old was asked if he needed more experience around him to help lift the embattled Tigers out of a doldrums.
“I guess that’s probably a good question,” Marshall said.
“But I’ve got a fair bit now. John Morris has had NRL coaching experience. Brett Hodgson has coaching experience overseas.
“I don’t feel like that’s an issue, and it wasn’t after 10 rounds, but given the last few it probably looks like it is. So it’s easy to make all these assumptions and all these statements based on how we’re going now.”
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall says he never thought about quitting his role during the Adam Doueihi saga. Picture: Sam RuttynSource: News Corp Australia
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Despite all the issues Marshall has to deal with, and the fact the coaching job has started to impact his family, he said he never once thought about quitting the role he’s contracted to until 2030.
“I’m not quitting. I don’t have that in my makeup from the day I was born. I’ve been fighting since I was born. I feel like I’m the right person for this job. I don’t feel it – I know it,” Marshall said.
“I’m working as hard as I possibly can amongst the club to try and turn it around, and we’ll continue to do so. I’m not quitting.”
Marshall acknowledged in his press conference on Wednesday that certain things at the Tigers needed to improve.
He said there were “a few things that popped up” in his conversations with Doueihi that he was not aware of and admitted it was “concerning” that information was being leaked to the media.
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Marshall also said the best way to improve things in the short term was to win this weekend against the Eels.
“We just need to get back to having a good performance on the weekend, and honestly, that solves most of the issues. Not all of them, I know that, but we need to start there,” Marshall said.
The Tigers coach also revealed he was getting advice from outside the club about how to turn the organisation around.
“I’m getting external help at the moment. Just not everyone knows about it,” he said.