Benji Marshall versus Isaac Moses is currently one of the biggest feuds in rugby league, but the reason they have fallen out has remained a secret – until now.

Marshall, through his brilliant media performance on Thursday, is winning the public relations battle. The problem is Moses doesn’t care about that, and Marshall is likely to lose the Lachlan Galvin war. It appears it is now up to Marshall and CEO Shane Richardson as to how many people are wounded or killed off, from a professional standpoint, in the process. At the core of it all is the Marshall-Moses feud.

Neither side is volunteering the source of the dispute. Marshall’s people say it may be because of the coach’s need to stand up to Moses, and more recently because of the nature of the John Bateman and David Klemmer exits from the Tigers. Both of those men are Moses clients.

But it’s deeper than that. My sources say it stems back to a secret meeting between Marshall, Mitchell Moses, Tim Sheens and Isaac Moses in early 2023.

That meeting was held when Mitchell Moses was negotiating his contract and exploring the idea of a return to the Tigers. At the meeting, Isaac Moses believed Benji’s body language and attitude towards Sheens was disrespectful.

It was not raised at the meeting. Instead, Moses let him know as much via a phone call the next day, and Marshall told him what he thought of that viewpoint in a direct way. The pair have been off each other since.

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall.Credit: NRL Photos

Moses would not be drawn on the matter when we asked for comment. It has been suggested to me that Sheens and Marshall are no longer close.

Marshall has the strong backing of his team in the battle with Galvin and Moses, but he may have reason for concern. Moses’ list of grievances with the club regarding Galvin is said to contain at least 15 points.

Marshall is aware of some of them, and there are some very damaging claims which he will challenge strongly. He may even wish to consider enlisting the help of lawyers. It has the potential to derail Wests Tigers’ season.

Marshall will be wondering how things changed so quickly with Galvin. About six months ago, he asked me not to write about him going to dinner with the Galvin family as part of the wooing process.

It was a very positive experience, but the coach didn’t want the information to be made public as the conversations were ongoing and he was worried about harming the........

© Brisbane Times