Players must step up off the field

BENJI MARSHALL COLUMN

AT the start of every season we always think the game, and its players, are going to be better.

And the game almost always is better. But the players?

On the field, we probably will be. But it will be just as important for us this year to be better off it. It's time for every player to take a stand.

What happens on the field has always taken care of itself but the number of dramas we've had off it – last year and leading into the start of this year – is just not good enough.

Most of the players don't get into trouble. But we all need to be smarter and more aware of what's happened in the past. I don't think it's that hard to get away from drugs or say no to a fight.

I've got to say I'm very proud to be a footballer but we all get tarred with the same brush. And it hurts.

Some people ask me what I do and sometimes I don't even tell them. As soon as you tell someone you're a footballer there's already doubt.

Our reputation needs to be turned around.

The game's done a lot when it comes to attitudes towards women and seminars about alcohol and drug use. The NRL is doing its part. I just think we've got to start doing our part better.

I'm not trying to tell every player to be a saint or not to drink. Don't get me wrong – I love a beer.

But we've just got to be smarter when it comes to the silly things that are costing us headlines and sponsors. Without the sponsors we don't have a game.

If players want to be paid more we're going to need the money from the TV rights to increase and we're going to need more sponsors in the game. The only way to do that is to keep our image clean. Or at least cleaner.

At the Tigers, we have a slogan this year: fulltime to professional.

We can transplant that to what we do off the field as well. We are all fulltime footballers but if we want to be professional we have to take it one step further.

That's not to say this is a simple thing to turn around. Maybe there needs to be some understanding about footballers, too.

I like going out with mates and catching up with guys I don't play footy with but it is getting more difficult.

You might go out and another guy's drunk and he starts something but the player get the headline. And every year it gets worse. I can't pick my nose in public without someone telling me I'm not allowed to.

Sometimes you just wish that away from football no one knew who you were. I've got to admit, I think that all the time. I would at times wish no one knew me. I don't mind most of the things that come with footy. But it is difficult to lead a normal life.

The best thing about being a professional rugby league player is doing what you love for a living. But it comes at a price. You see a lot of talented people leave the game because of it. Before I go out, I always think about what could happen – the worst-case scenario – and I hate that.

If I could have it my way, I'd be who I am when it comes to football and then away from it, I'd wish no one knew me.

That might sound selfish, and I know you've got to take the good with the bad, but sometimes it does get too much – and I think I can handle things well.

I've lost friends over the years because of how much my life has changed. I have to act a certain way and do certain things because of my lifestyle and because of the game I play.

A lot of footballers don't have lives away from rugby league. We don't get to experience life as an 18- or 20-year-old. A lot of people have to grow up before their time.

I had to grow up earlier than I wanted to because of how I was brought up. But a lot of people who haven't had that might be shocked by it and go off the rails.

It's a great game, and don't get me wrong, it's a great life. But it can also be a hard one.

I've had blokes come up to me wanting to fight me for no reason, girls throwing themselves at me and even girls throwing their drinks at me.

We can all learn a lesson, though. I still try to live a normal life. I still go out with my mates at the weekend. I also try to be smarter about it. We all need to be.

- © Fairfax NZ News