'It's wrong': Joey fires back at Benji bashing

Andrew Johns has leapt to the defence of Benji Marshall, urging the playing group at the Wests Tigers to "aim up" after their horror loss at the weekend. The side had been humming along nicely, securing narrow wins over the Sharks and Dragons, but met their match in the form of a red-hot Melbourne outfit in round 10. The hosts ran away with a 64-0 victory at AAMI Park, leaving the Tigers and their fans completely shellshocked after a promising start to the season. The performance has placed the spotlight back on Marshall, who is in his second full year in charge of the first grade team at Concord. Ever since he stepped into the position, the 2005 premiership winner and Kiwis legend has had question marks lingering over his coaching credentials. Those lingering concerns were only amplified when reports suggested Lachlan Galvin wanted to leave the Tigers due to his lack of faith in Marshall's coaching. However, according to Johns, the pressure should be on the 17 men taking the field this week and called on the Tigers to "make a statement" when they face South Sydney. "It's up to the players, it's not up to the coach," the rugby league Immortal said. "He's not out there missing tackles. He can prepare them as good as he can, but the players have got to take responsibility. They've got Souths and they've got to aim up. "They are at home at Campbelltown, go out and make a statement. "The people that are knocking Benji - I watch the way they play and the way they defend, they know what they're doing and they are well-drilled. "People who are potting Benji, it's wrong." Johns also pointed out the fact that some of the game's most respected coaches couldn't lift the Tigers out of the cellar over the past decade. Ivan Cleary and Michael Maguire - both premiership winning coaches - are among those who have tried and failed with the perennial battlers who haven't played finals in more than a decade. "Look at that club, they've had some of the best coaches," Johns said. "Ivan Cleary couldn't get them going, Madge [Maguire] couldn't get them going, Jason Taylor couldn't get them going … even Tim Sheens couldn't."