KEY POINTS:
BRISBANE - New Zealand five-eighth Benji Marshall has called for the retention of Wayne Bennett in the Kiwi rugby league set-up.
On Stephen Kearney's appointment as coach in February, Bennett was hired in an advisory role, initially through to the centenary test in May, but his involvement was extended to the World Cup, where he has been Kearney's assistant.
The former Kangaroo, Queensland and Brisbane coach hasn't spoken to the media during the tournament and he again declined interviews after the Kiwis' stunning 34-20 defeat of Australia in the final in Brisbane last night.
But Marshall said Bennett, the winner of six premierships with the Broncos, commanded plenty of respect and had had a big influence in the Kiwi camp.
"If anything, he and Steve brought a lot of discipline back in," he said.
"We stayed solid, we made a pact, we all stayed together and we're a tight bunch. They kept it that way with discipline."
Marshall, 23, made his test debut three years ago, but a catalogue of injuries restricted him to just three caps, all against Australia, before the World Cup build-up match against Tonga last month.
Those three previous appearances all ended in defeat, and New Zealand also lost their tournament opener against their transtasman rivals, meaning Marshall had never tasted victory over the Kangaroos heading into the decider.
"It's just a dream come true and in a World Cup final," he said of breaking down that barrier.
"What more can you ask for."
The "Bash Benji" campaign that the Kangaroos had reportedly concocted in their build-up never eventuated at Suncorp Stadium and Marshall, whose form had fluctuated during the tournament, was probably at his most consistent in the final.
He said the key to victory was cutting out the mistakes the Kiwis had shown in earlier matches and "us not beating ourselves".
"We beat ourselves the last couple of times and we didn't want to do that," he said.
"Completing our sets went a long way to us winning."
Marshall added that a speech by former Kiwi great Mark Graham, who presented the jerseys before the match, had helped to inspire the team.
"His words were you go out there and die for your brother and it hit home to the boys," he said.
"They (Australia) got off to a flyer and we really stuck together."
Marshall has now completed the double of winning a National Rugby League premiership, which he achieved with Wests Tigers in 2005, and a World Cup title and he said it was hard to compare the two.
"I don't know how to explain the feeling, it's just different," he said.
"I'm not going to say one is better than the other, but this is definitely good because I've had a lot of ups and downs.
"I've had a lot of injuries and to come back here after the criticism I've copped makes it a dream come true."
- NZPA
