Tigers coach Benji Marshall bristled at questions about the club’s decision to allow rising hooker Tallyn Da Silva to leave the club in favour of keeping skipper Api Koroisau.
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Da Silva is reportedly set to join a rival club potentially before the June 30 deadline, after telling the Tigers he does not want to play second fiddle to Koroisau.
Koroisau is 32 and is off-contract at the end of 2026, but the club are reportedly discussing a contract extension for the 226-game veteran.
Da Silva is just 20-years of age and despite only playing 21 NRL games since his debut in 2023, is tipped as a representative star of the future.
Marshall was pressed on why they are letting a young gun, who could be their hooker for the next 15 years go, for a veteran playmaker that will likely retire in the next few seasons, even with an extension.
“He’s a really good kid who has a bright future, and I understand the sentiment of, ‘You need to try and keep them all’, but at the same time we’re putting our eggs into Api’s basket for the next few years,” Marshall said.
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Marshall said reports he wanted Koroisau and Shane Richardson wanted Da Silva were wide of the mark.
“That’s not true,” Marshall said.
“All of it. Me and Richo are on the same page. The plan from the beginning is what we have executed and nothing’s changed.”
Marshall revealed Da Silva wants to stay, but sees more opportunity for game time elsewhere.
“The hard thing is he (Da Silva) wants to be here and he wants to stay,” Marshall said.
“But Api is the guy to help us win more games and to be fair he has been our best player the last few years and he has got more left in the tank.
“I can understand Tallyn wanting to play more minutes and be in first grade and not wait behind him. It’s hard to stop a guy with that instinct.
“But the difference is he actually does want to be here, so it is not like he is saying, I don’t want to be here and I want to get out of here. He just wants to play first grade.”
Marshall defended the decision to play Koroisau for more minutes.
“He’s our captain as well,” Marshall said.
“He plays 80 minutes every week, puts in for the team and has a lot left to give, so we are prioritising that at the moment and it is hard that Tallyn doesn’t want to be behind that, but at the same time you can’t hold him back too.”
Marshall wouldn’t be drawn on replacement for Da Silva on the bench.
“We will wait to see if he goes before we start talking about that, but Tallyn is playing this week, so he has got a job to do here before we worry about that,” Marshall said.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis revealed on SEN radio that he expects Da Silva to leave the Tigers before the June 30 deadline, despite being contracted until the end of 2026.
“Yep, huge chance. I’d put my money on it,” Carayannis said on SEN 1170’s Breakfast.
“I think this will be his last game for the Tigers.
“Don’t ask me which club (he’ll go to), I don’t know which way it’s going to play out. There’s a fair few meetings to have over the course of the weekend.
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“But I think you’ll find that the Tigers have come to terms with the fact that Tallyn Da Silva will play his last game tonight.”
According News Corp, the Eels are currently the favourites to land the talented hooker with Parramatta coach Jason Ryles reconfirming their interest in signing Da Silva.
“I don’t have a crystal ball. There is some interest from us (in Da Silva) but I think there is interest from several clubs,” Ryles said on SEN radio.
“We’ll have to wait and see on that one.”
This season, Da Silva has averaged 21 minutes per game scoring two tries across 11 games.
