Now that Jeremy Marshall-King has forced his way into the Canterbury starting side, he just has to stay there until round 12.
He’s already got the Sunday afternoon NRL showdown at ANZ Stadium against the Wests Tigers circled in his calendar.
It will mark his first time coming up against the man he’s looked up to all his life – big brother Benji Marshall.
The 22-year-old took his first tentative step towards emerging from his famous sibling’s shadow on Friday night as he played a leading hand in Canterbury’s 20-18 win over Penrith.
Coach Dean Pay said he had done enough to wear the No.6 next week after he helped his side to their first victory of the season.
After being handed his first run-on appearance and replacing the dumped Matt Frawley at five-eighth, Marshall-King showed he deserves to be spoken about as a player of potential and skill in his own right.
From the day he strapped on a pair of boots he’s been compared to his brother but says he’s determined to make his own mark.
“It’s pretty hard – everyone brings me up as Benji’s brother,” Marshall-King said.
“I’m just trying to make my own name. Just play my game, just keep running the ball.
“I don’t really think about it too much, people saying I’m Benji’s brother and that. I look up to him heaps but I just want to play my game.”
It’s been a rollercoaster couple of months for Marshall-King who came to the Dogs from the Tigers in the off-season.
He started the year outside the club’s top 30 squad and expected to spend the season as a part-time reserve grader and supplementing his income working in the demolition industry.
Moses Suli’s departure gave him a chance but he was still well down the pecking order in line for a starting halves spot behind Kieran Foran, Frawley, Josh Cleeland, Nu Brown and Lachlan Lewis.
But he didn’t let it deter him and when asked about the secret to his rapid rise into contention he said: “Just work really hard.”
“After pre-season I was planning on going back to demolition, Dean pulled me in and gave me a fulltime contract.
“I just worked so hard and put in so much effort and had a good attitude to training, I wanted to work hard for the boys and it’s paid off.”
