Marshall's cruel twist in unwanted Bennett record

The Dolphins are on the verge of delivering Wayne Bennett's worst season in the coaching ranks. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)

He wouldn't even know, but Benji Marshall has almost certainly helped consigned his mentor Wayne Bennett to one of the most dubious records in the super coach's illustrious 36-year career.

In masterminding Wests Tigers' dam-busting 24-23 victory over the Dolphins in his pseudo head coaching debut on Saturday, Marshall left Bennett staring down the barrel of his worst season ever.

None of Bennett's previous club teams - Canberra (1987), Brisbane (1988-2008; 2015-18), St George Illawarra (2009-11), Newcastle (2012-14) or South Sydney (2019-21) - have finished lower than 12th on the ladder.

But after slumping to a 14th loss, the Dolphins remain languishing in 14th position with two rounds remaining and looking in grim shape with injuries aplenty.

Unless the competition newcomers beat both North Queensland and the Warriors and 12th-placed Manly lose to lowly Canterbury and the last-placed Tigers, which appears unlikely, the Dolphins can't possibly finish higher than 13th.

No great surprise then that Bennett was in no mood to assess his side's debut season in the big time in the immediate aftermath to the Dolphins' gut-wrenching one-point loss.

"You can make those assertions. I'll leave that to the journalists," he said.

Bennett was coaching his record-extending 912th game in the NRL.

With the retiring Tim Sheens handing Marshall the reins for the last three rounds of the season before the rookie steps up from assistant to the top job in 2024, the 38-year-old former golden boot winner was serving as head coach for the first time.

But Marshall refused to claim bragging rights over Bennett, the man who twice handed him playing lifelines - in 2017 at Brisbane and 2021 at South Sydney - after first teaming up with the New Zealand Test side in 2007.

"I'm still the assistant coach. The bosses sent me to get practice for next year, to see what it's like and owning these duties," Marshall said before pledging to go see Bennett in the losing sheds.

"I talked about Wayne just the other day. He has had a massive influence in my life and he will continue to.

"He messages me and calls me if I need help and we'll be friends forever."

So, with the Tigers' victory to be officially credited to Sheens' column and not Marshall's, the result and the Dolphins' loss, ironically, may not have helped either of the premiership's two longest-serving coaches.

Just as 73-year-old Bennett looks bound to endure his lowest-ever season finish as coach, 72-year-old Sheens remains bound for the second wooden spoon of his NRL career - and first since 2000 with North Queensland.

Only two more wins for the Tigers over the Sydney Roosters and Manly in their remaining two matches can seemingly save Sheens from that fate.

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