Mick Potter argues sending Benji Marshall to the bench may be just what the out of form superstar needs Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba says he feels for Benji Marshall following his demotion to the bench. Superstar Benji Marshall has been dumped to the bench by Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter. Dumped Wests Tigers star Benji Marshall (L) and coach Mick Potter. Picture: Porteous Gregg Source: The Daily Telegraph MICK Potter wants Benji Marshall to finish his career at the Wests Tigers - but admits that Marshall's future in the team will be determined by form. In a wide-ranging and candid interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Tigers coach opened up about why he dumped his star five-eighth to the bench for the first time since 2006 ahead of tomorrow night's crucial game against competition leaders South Sydney. And with speculation Marshall is about to sign an upgraded extension until the end of 2017 for a reported $4 million over five years, Potter said: "I am pretty much like most people, having a player at one club his whole career is a big deal. Potentially that should be the case with Benji. I just want him to be back to his best and playing at his best every week. This is Potter's first year in charge at the Wests Tigers - and he has come up with probably the toughest call ever made at the joint-venture club. He said he did it for one reason. "Ultimately it is about the team, it is not about Benji," Potter said. I am looking for a spark in the team and sometimes a change-up like this does help. Marshall admitted last week he was a shadow of his former self and he spoke openly about how he had he lost his confidence. But you can still imagine he wouldn't have been tickled pink when Potter broke the news at training on Tuesday that he would be starting off the bench against the Bunnies. "I spoke to him at training before we did video," Potter said. He wasn't happy. I can understand that given his status at the club and in the game. I suppose it was like when anyone receives bad news. It is not taken well but actions speak louder than words and when we went out and trained he could not have performed any better. He was just outstanding. Yes it was a tough decision, probably one of the toughest I have had to do in my coaching. But I don't shy away from making those decisions and I felt it was the right thing for our team at this particular stage. Moving forward I am confident Benji will react in a positive way for the team and we will get the best out of our team this weekend because of it. Potter wants to make this point clear. While Benji is on the bench for now, that is not to say he can't fight his way back into the starting team. "Yes, I want Benji Marshall back in the starting team," Potter said. So why dump him for a stop-gap five-eighth? With all due respect to Liam Fulton, he has played pretty much his entire NRL career in the back row - so what does he offer at five-eighth Benji doesn't? "Well, given the team we are playing against there is going to be some heavy traffic potentially coming at Benji," Potter said. That is not to say Benji can't handle that but I thought it would just take a little bit of sting out of it early and Fults defensively is very, very competent. Attack-wise he would probably be the first to admit he is no Benji Marshall but he can certainly catch and pass and he can kick the ball. I don't envisage within this game it will be a long-term solution. By that he means Marshall will get plenty of game-time against the Rabbitohs tomorrow night. "It is a 17-man game and he will still play a massive part in the game," Potter said. If Benji is struggling for form and we are not even halfway through 2013, how can the club sign him up until the end of 2017 as the highest paid player? This is the question fans have a right to ask and to his credit when fronted on it Potter didn't duck for cover. "I am pretty much like most people, having a player at one club his whole career is a big deal," he said. But he said the final decision on how much Benji is paid would be determined by the club's executive. My job is having the best possible players at the club. (The money) is for upstairs to sort out. I want Benji here as long as possible. I will leave the other part of it for the executives to sort out. Told there is talk that Benji is weighing 101kg (almost 10kg above his peak playing weight) the Tigers coach broke out laughing. He is not 101kg. I think he is 94 off the top of my head. That is just Chinese whispers by the sound of it. And as for the club's crippling injury toll, Potter said both he and skipper Robbie Farah had told the squad excuses won't wash. "Look, I don't want to make any excuses for anyone," he said. Our job is to win games. Sometimes you get injuries, sometimes you don't. We just need to perform better. I want to win every single game. Unfortunately that hasn't happened. Sure, there is reasons for it but I just don't want to stand behind excuses. There is opportunities here for some young guys to do some special things, that is what we are trying to do. We are trying to win a game. I thought on the weekend we were looking okay at halftime but things just slipped away. The game is 80 minutes and we are not hanging in for 80 minutes.