Despite now being confirmed as suffering a fractured wrist during Sunday’s game, Benji Marshall spent nearly an hour meeting fans and signing autographs following the Village Motors Dolphins defeat of the Ipswich Jets, 28-20.
“Benji clashed with the Jets Billy McConnachi in the 69th minute,” General Manager of Football Grant Cleal said. “He went down straight away, the look on his face said it all.”
Marshall led the Village Motors Dolphins’ charge against the Ipswich Jets, scoring one try and setting up three others. His injury will mean that he will spend the next few weeks recuperating, according to medical staff at the Broncos.
“You just have to watch the replay to see that Benji was in a lot of pain,” Cleal said. “All our players stay on the field after the game to meet the kids, get photos and sign autographs. However, there’s no way we expect injured players to do that.”
“Despite having what we now know is a fractured wrist, Benji stayed with the team on the field, meeting and posing for photos with Dolphins supporters.”
Following the game, Marshall joined the team at the Dolphins Full Time event, where he picked up the McCormack Meat’s Players Player Award. The large crowd at the Dolphins Full Time event heard from him when he accepted his award. “Our sponsors and fans probably didn’t realise at the time that Benji’s injury means that he will miss some of the season. He spent a lot of time answering questions and giving his thoughts on the game,” Cleal said. Other players to pick up awards included Myles Taueli who won the Rustic Olive Man of the Match and Matt Lodge who was the Fan Favourite, as voted by supporters at the game.
The Dolphins do not yet know when Marshall will next play. “Benji’s return to playing will be a decision for his medical staff,” Cleal said. “From our perspective, we are hoping that he makes a quick recovery because we can see how much he’s enjoying his footy.”