Benji Marshall: Playing rugby with Blues made me better league player

Benji Marshall: "I found something in New Zealand I had lost." Photo / Getty Images

His rugby career may have only lasted six games but Dragons halfback and Kiwis hopeful Benji Marshall says his time at the Blues was the best thing he could have done.

A year ago today Marshall announced his brief rugby stint had come to an end, asking for a release from the Blues following just one start in Super Rugby.

After signing with the Dragons midway through last season the former Kiwis captain is in line for an international recall in next Friday's Anzac test after a strong start to the 2015 season.

The Dragons sit second on the NRL table with five wins and two defeats.

Marshall told the Daily Telegraph his move from his former club Wests Tigers to the Blues made him a better league player.

"I found something in New Zealand I had lost over a period of time, which was trying to be the best player on the field," Marshall said.

"I was playing for the sake of being there with my mates, and probably got a bit comfortable, and lost a lot of motivation.

"When I went to New Zealand, I had to prove myself again, which made me find a lot of things I thought I had lost, and that you don't think about when you've been in the same for so long.

"For me, going to New Zealand was the best thing I could have done."

With Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran under an injury cloud, Marshall is a chance to play his first test in three years.

Foran is a chance of playing in Manly's Anzac Day clash with the Storm in Melbourne but should he fail to recover from a hamstring injury in time, a resurgent Marshall could be in the frame to make a test recall after last donning the Kiwis jersey in 2012.