Adam SutcliffeWests Tigers Benji Marshall may have been setup in Kings Cross scuffle
June 17th 2008 14:27
It is believed that the antagonizer who approached Marshall asking for a photo and a handshake, may have had friends ready with cameras to quickly capture the planned attack and then try to sell the images on to The Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald for up to $6000 in total.
It seems that Benji Marshall was asked for a handshake, then the other party withdrew from the handshake and began to 'bait' Benji trying to force him to lash out.
After the NRL player didn't oblige, the other party apparently began to attack Marshall until the security from the Kings Cross nightclub stepped in and ejected the man.
The majority of the incident which apparently only took 30 seconds was captured on phone camera and quickly passed to the Daily Telegraph for a fee. In the reports, even though NSW Police cleared Benji Marshall the Daily Telegraph still chose to hammer Benji in the article and paint him as the bad guy.
While NRL players do seem to find trouble, in many cases trouble is finding them - with the public looking for a quick buck, cheap thrill or to dethrone a hero. The fishbowl environment has already claimed victims from Rugby League circles such as: Tim Smith, Greg Inglis, Greg Bird, Paul Gallen and Mark Riddell.
The NRL needs to thrash out more ideas on how to combat this growing trend or David Gallop will have an ever increasing public image problem on his hands, no matter who is at fault.
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