Benji Marshall has led an emotional Haka for his younger brother following his debut for the club synonymous with the family name.
Jeremy Marshall-King debuted for the team on Sunday night against the New Zealand Warriors at Leichhardt Oval, 14 years after his older brother played his first game.
Benji, who recently signed a deal to return to the famous club, performed the traditional tribal dance alongside family and friends following the match as a tribute to his sibling.
Benji Marshall has led an emotional Haka for his younger brother following his debut for the club synonymous with the family name
Jeremy Marshall-King debuted for the team on Sunday night against the New Zealand Warriors and got emotional during the war dance performance following the game
Jeremy Marshall-King (center left) debuted for the team on Sunday night against the New Zealand Warriors at Leichhardt Oval, 14 years after his older brother Benji (right) played his first game
Jeremy made his debut from the bench for the Tigers in the last game of the regular season.
Following the match, he walked over to the stands where the crowd parted allowing Benji and up to a dozen friends and family performed the traditional war dance for the young player.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Jeremy during the Haka as his teammates gathered behind him.
New Zealand-born players from both the Tigers and Warriors applauded the effort as Jeremy thanked his supporters following the performance.
Benji Marshall has led an emotional Haka for his younger brother following his debut for the club synonymous with the family name
Following the match, Jeremy walked over to the stands where the crowd parted allowing Benji and up to a dozen friends and family performed the traditional war dance for the young player
Benji (far left), who recently signed a deal to return to the famous club, performed the traditional tribal dance alongside family and friends following the match as a tribute to his sibling
Karl Stefanovic, however, took exception to the performance, saying the Haka shouldn’t be performed in Australia.
‘It’s a New Zealand war cry on Australian turf, and I think it should stay in New Zealand,’ he said on the Today Show Monday morning.
Stefanovic jokingly said the Haka should be banned from Australia because it’s ‘too good.’
‘We should keep that stuff out of Australia. They’ve got a war cry we can’t do,’ he said.
Benji Marshall announced last month he was returning to the Wests Tigers, the club he helped win the 2005 NRL Premiership
Jeremy Marshall-Blake, 21, is a versatile playmaker who can cover fullback, five eighth and hooker.
He was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia aged 10 to follow in the footsteps of his famous older brother.
The similarities between the brother’s appearance trickle even down to the tribal-themed bicep tattoos.
Jeremy is off contract for next season and will be hoping the re-signing of Benji helps him earn a new deal.
The Tigers announced last month the 2005 premiership winning five-eighth was re-joining the club after leaving for rugby union in 2013.
The fan favourite played over 200 games for the team and is their all-time leading point scorer.