One time for Benji, copping a smaller role for the greater good.

Benji Marshall will apparently make the move north to Brisbane next season, joining Brisbane Broncos and a fairly talented group of footy players as well as the best coach to grace the NRL. Given the nature of the deal, rumoured to be for a single year at around $100,000, many were a bit confused as to why Marshall would take such a dip in salary to join a club who don't have a whole lot of room to fit Marshall in, anywhere.

From a slightly different perspective, this deal makes a whole lot of sense for all parties involved and if this move had been made earlier on in the process, it would take on a slightly different narrative than the 'last chance' vibe. Much has been made of the relationship that Marshall and coach Wayne Bennett share, having worked together successfully at representative level and that relationship is what has made this all possible.

Marshall wouldn't have been too keen to accept next to no role in a full-strength Broncos team and a salary dip had the Broncos been led by a run-of-the-mill NRL coach. With Bennett at the helm, Marshall will be given clarity on his role with the Broncos and their relationship will likely see Marshall contribute in a variety of ways if he's not exactly playing for the Broncos.

There are a variety of outcomes for Marshall next season, starting with simply mentoring Anthony Milford, Ben Hunt and Kodi Nikorima. That trio isn't short on talent and they are also on the younger side of things, plus they all go about their work in a similar fashion to Marshall as they can do all the basic NRL half skills but rely heavily on their running games as Marshall does. If Marshall isn't playing, he's there at training sharing his wisdom and remember that this Broncos side no longer has Kevin Walters coaching the halves, so a slick mentor would be handy.

Not too many coaches are craftier than Bennett and the noise surrounding Hunt's future adds another layer of funk to signing Marshall. Not just because Marshall will offer some cover should Hunt move on, but we didn't see Hunt's best footy consistently enough this season which could be thanks to a bit of comfort from not having competition for that starting spot. Bennett knows that signing Marshall will shake things up a little and having Marshall there, frothing for a starting spot, will ensure that Hunt is under pressure to play his best footy more often than not.

Hunt and Milford have the halves spots locked up while Nikorima has the bench utility spot locked up as well. Darius Boyd has fullback locked up, so let's be honest here and say that there's little room for Marshall in this Broncos spine. I did read that centre could be an option with James Roberts' future up in the air as he's in rehab, however Roberts and Tom Opacic will start next season at centre and Marshall would be a weird centre option. Jordan Kahu is also more of a long-term centre option and with Jonas Pearson emerging this year to join Corey Oates as the Broncos wingers, Kahu is a far better option at centre than Marshall.

Translated, that paragraph means Marshall won't get a look in.

Bennett knows that, Marshall knows that ... Marshall knows that and still signed despite having a variety of 'better' opportunities available. Bennett wouldn't have sugar-coated things, he would have been as straight up as a young kid in telling Marshall that he'll only get minutes if one of the starters sucks, or if there is an injury/suspension/Origin duty.

That makes me believe that Marshall is happy to help Uncle Wayne out and lend a hand in all things Broncos. Instead of confusion, I'm over the moon as Marshall is eager to take a very minor role at the Broncos, probably playing a fair amount of Intrust Super Cup and contributing in any way he can. Marshall definitely doesn't need footy, he's already got media gigs at Fox Sport and this deal would have room for Marshall to take trips down to Sydney to feature on NRL 360 etc.

Opportunities may present themselves for Marshall to play more footy in 2018 and possibly beyond, however there's a lot of water to go under the bridge before then. The Broncos are spending a small slice of their salary cap on a veteran play-maker who will offer depth and wisdom on the training park, while Marshall gets a deal to play some footy, help Uncle Wayne out and do his media stuff; everyone's a winner.

Marshall's arrival will also give the Broncos a big ol' #KiwiNRL contingent with Marshall joining Nikorima, Adam Blair, Alex Glenn and Jordan Kahu. That rivals Melbourne's Kiwi Storm Gang of Bromwich bros, Tohu Harris, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and possibly Kevin Proctor (who's being hunted by Gold Coast) in terms of quality and quantity.

Also, Brisbane's group of kiwis are all Maori. This has them competing against Penrith who have Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Dean Whare (being hunted by Manly), Peta Hiku, Te Maire Martin, Sam McKendry, James Fisher-Harris and Zach Dockar-Clay.