Club ready to move on with the future after star announced deal with rugby union.
Wests Tigers star Benji Marshall may have played his last game for the club in first grade, with offcials looking to blood exciting youngsters as they build for the future.
Marshall announced this week he has signed with the Auckland Blues in the Super 15 rugby union competition, in the hope of possibly earning a spot with the All Blacks next season.
However, with the Tigers season down to the side playing for pride, the club will officially ask the NRL for a second-tier salary cap exemption to they may name teenage halfback Luke Brooks to take on Parramatta this weekend.
The club will also seek permission to play Jarred Farlow in place of Robbie Farah, who will miss the next one to two weeks with a dislocated knuckle.
Marshall did not do his chances of retaining his place in the side any favors after his woeful performance in the Tigers’ 36-6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans last round.
The playmaker had just two runs for 11 metres, with several pundits questioning his desire to finish his time with the club on a high.
However, with just five games left in the regular season and Marshall four shy of reaching the 200-game mark, it would be a massive call by coach Mick Potter to bench or dump Marshall from the side.
No mater what his choice is, Potter beleives Brooks is the way forward for the club, saying he has performed at every level has been exposed to in his young but promising career.
“I think so. He has proven himself in State Cup and he is doing a great job for the under-20s,” Potter said.
“I don’t think that there is any doubt that he needs to be challenged at this level.
“It is the next stage in his development, so we will go through the process and see what happens.”
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