Off-contract Marshall happy to play waiting game

He turned 31 last Thursday and is entering the 2016 season off-contract for the first time in his 13-year career.

Young-gun Drew Hutchison is waiting in the wings and the Dragons have also been linked to Cooper Cronk –rumours coach Paul McGregor has rubbished – among any number of other off-contract halves with a view to the 2017 season.

Marshall knew the questions were coming at the club’s open media day on Tuesday and that they’ll keep coming until his future is sorted.

He doesn’t bristle at them. He takes them in his stride knowing there is no quick resolution that will bring them to an end with his future unlikely to be determined until well into the season.

‘‘I’m pretty relaxed about it all to be honest with you,’’ Marshall said.

‘‘I really haven’t thought about contracts yet to be honest.

‘‘All I know is that myself and Mary have regular meetings and he stays honest with me about where they’re at and at the moment they don’t have the money to offer me a contract.

‘‘At this point in time I’m just sitting back waiting, get through a few rounds of footy and hopefully start off with a bang.

‘‘All I know within myself is that I’ve got a lot to offer any team, whether that’s here or whether it’s not.

‘‘I feel like my leadership has gone up another level and my control on the field will go up another level this year.

‘‘It’s been a long preseason but I reckon one of the most valuable of my career and one I think our team’s going to benefit from.

‘‘It’s something I’m excited about putting out on the field.

‘‘People expect the old flashy stuff but I’m just going to play what I see this year, try and control the tempo and just do my job.’’

Monday’s round one encounter with Melbourne will also be Marshall’s first NRL game since suffering a nasty syndesmosis injury in the Dragons semi-final loss to the Bulldogs last year.

Marshall tried to battle on with the injury that later required surgery but said being forced to watch his side’s golden-point heartbreak from the sideline still burns.

‘‘I was devastated to go off and not be able to be in the back-end of that game,’’ Marshall said.

‘‘It’s definitely something we take a lot out of and I thought we showed a lot of character in that game.

“The boys really stepped up a level and still had a chance to win there. 

“There’s a lot of ifs and buts but it gives us a lot of hunger for this year.’’

Marshall said that the 17-man squad named by McGregor on Tuesday illustrated the club’s depth.

‘‘Injuries take their toll and I think the thing we didn’t have last year was that depth,” he said.

“We have a lot more depth now and we have to leave out guys who would be in first grade for any other team.”