Any #KiwiNRL half is going to draw comparisons to Benji Marshall. Very few actually play in similar fashion to Marshall though and this is more a matter of convenience over substance. In watching Marshall and Tuimoala Lolohea play this weekend, I've come to view Lolohea as the most Marshall-like half in the #KiwiNRL or NRL in general.

Prior to this weekend's footy, I read something about how Marshall was sought out as a possible mid-season recruit for Wests Tigers. Mitchell Moses had left for Parramatta and they needed a half, so they tested the waters with Marshall as it was no certainty that Lolohea would be able to make the move from the Warriors to Tigers. Now, with Lolohea rocking that Tigers' No.6 jersey, he most resembles Marshall in terms of their style, just not quite in terms of their quality.

Style, not quality; that's super important here. This weekend I saw Marshall unleash his usual bag of tricks, headlined by a right-to-left pass where he loaded up as if he was going to hit Tautau Moga with a long pass, then at the very last moment he eased up and hitAlex Glenn with a delightful short-ball. Then I watched Lolohea find himself in a cul-de-sac down a short-side and throw an under-arm lob pass to David Nofoaluma to score.

There's many differences between those two specific passes, the general performances between Marshall and Lolohea in their respective games (vs Canberra and vs Gold Coast) and where these two halves currently sit. These two moments and such moments in the past few weeks show two players who not only have a variety of skills, but the audacity to use these skills to create try-scoring chances. Since Lolohea joined the Tigers and Marshall pounced at the opportunity given to him via injuries to Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford, I've seen enough positive signs to be super intrigued by what the rest of this season holds for both Lolohea and Milford.

I saw a headline that zoned in on Marshall re-creating his 2005 magic and this neglects the fact that Marshall has been executing subtle moments of magic before and after his Super Rugby excursion - Wayne Bennett wouldn't have signed him otherwise. Marshall showed glimpses of this with the Dragons and was effectively made the scapegoat of a horrible 2016 Dragons season, from which both Marshall and the Dragons have bounced back strongly from.

After waiting for this chance, Marshall has clearly shown that he is still one of the classiest halves in the NRL and with Kieran Foran consistently battling injury, Marshall could be viewed as the best #KiwiNRL half in the league. Obviously the fact that Marshall has only played five games (80 minutes in just three of those games) plays a factor, but now with Ben Hunt back in favour, it'll be interesting to see if Bennett leans towards playing Marshall and Hunt together with Kodi Nikorima sliding back to his x-factor bench role.

Marshall took small money to play a back up role with Brisbane and now he's morphing into a key play-maker for the Broncos as Hunt and Milford have battled injury. This has played a small part in Brisbane moving from 7th in round six to 3rd after round 16, meaning the Broncos have climbed the ladder during most of the Origin period. Marshall's experience is an asset in this situation and this is a player who still has the skills required, combined with comfort in his role at a strong club.

Compare that to Lolohea, someone who has undeniable skill but sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. There have been horrible moments and typically-Tui moments of sublime skill in Lolohea's brief stint with Wests Tigers, a team who have lost as many games as Newcastle.

Unfortunately for Lolohea, his arrival at the Tigers coincided with an injury to Luke Brooks which meant Lolohea was effectively thrusted into leading the Tigers around. Jack Littlejohn is barely an NRL half and James Tedesco is a dynamic fullback who chimes on the end of backline moves, meaning Lolohea was the lead-creator and to expect Lolohea to enjoy immediate success in such a role is silly.

This is a period of growth though and consider that Lolohea went from playing reserve grade as a winger, in his hometown surrounded by family and friends, to playing No.6 for a struggling team in Sydney; talk about getting out of your comfort zone.

Brooks is back at halfback, allowing Lolohea to focus on what he does best which is running the footy and offering attacking funk. Lolohea had 13 runs for 79m against the Titans in his second game alongside Brooks, which was the most runs/metres he's had as a Tiger (9/64m vs Dragons, 4/27m vs Roosters, 6/27m vs Sharks).

Lolohea also had the least kicks/kick-metres of his four games as a Tiger, with only 2 kicks for 15m. Compared to; 4 kicks/129m vs Dragons, 5/78m vs Roosters, 9/176m vs Sharks.

Not only did Lolohea have the most runs, run-metres, try assists, line-break assists and least kicks, kick-metres in his second game alongisde Brooks, he also missed the fewest tackles (0) of his Tigers career. I'm not saying Lolohea is going to turn the corner and lead the Tiger into the top-eight with Brooks, but we can definitely expect Lolohea to develop and hopefully flourish with a dominant halfback.

The major similarity between Marshall and Lolohea however is that the share uncertain futures. Marshall signed a one-year deal but it'd be a wise move for Brisbane to sign him on, with a possibility that Marshall partners Milford in the halves next season while Nikorima continues his development. Otherwise Marshall will keep offering fantastic depth for Brisbane if he re-signs.

Any development from Lolohea in the halves could be for nothing as Josh Reynolds joins the Tigers next season, more than likely to play No.6. Brooks is a left-edge half and Reynolds plays on the right for the Bulldogs, meanwhile Lolohea is playing right-edge at the moment. Tedesco's off to the Roosters, opening the door for Lolohea to play fullback but I'm intrigued by the possibilities if Lolohea and Brooks start to form a slick combination.

You can't not play Tedesco, so Lolohea will play in the halves for the rest of this season and the combination Lolohea forms with not only Brooks but also Elijah Taylor - who does a lot of ball-playing - will give Ivan Cleary a few funky issues.

Lolohea and Marshall aren't exactly playing for their futures right now as Lolohea's signed and Marshall's in a great spot. What they do throughout the rest of this season will however have a major influence on how the next 18 months looks for both of them and it's gonna involve a few more audacious passes, so enjoy the funk. Especially with a World Cup on the horizon.

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