LIAM Marshall is used to hearing about failure – it is all part of bouncing back towards glory.
And the Wigan winger does not have to look far for the man who helped him change his mindset, boss Matt Peet.
Serious knee injuries ruled him out of both the 2018 and 2020 Grand Finals but despite the doom and gloom, staying positive was the key.
A book called The Obstacle Is The Way saw him change his way of thinking, thanks to phrases like, ‘It's okay to be discouraged, like any good school, learning from failure isn't free and failure shows us the way—by showing us what isn't the way.’
The man who helped him unlock the door is now his coach.
Marshall, whose hat-trick in his 150th appearance helped Wigan to the 42-12 win over Hull KR that sent them to Old Trafford, said: “It’s something I only really thought about when I was injured. It dawned on me that I’d not faced much adversity.
“It’s something I tried to adopt myself, thinking positively rather than negatively. I do that in all facets of life.
“I’m a straight down the line thinker, I don’t think too far forward. If you can flip a positive side to something, no matter what, it helps massively.
MOST READ IN RUGBY LEAGUE
CAPITAL GAIN
Mike Eccles hopes to guide rugby league bosses in making more out of London
‘HE’S A FIGHTER’
Rugby league legend aged 40 placed on life support after sudden collapse
TAKE ‘OLD
Savannah Andrade hopes Women’s Grand Final soon shares Old Trafford stage
PRESSURE
Willie Peters knows demand on Wigan players’ shoulders as Hull KR look to shock
“I adopted that with my injury and any situations I’ve faced since, on and off the field. If you let something play on your mind or drag you done, it doesn’t really help you.
“Matt was still assistant coach and he gave a book, The Obstacle Is The Key.
Most read in Rugby League
CAPITAL GAIN
Mike Eccles hopes to guide rugby league bosses in making more out of London
‘HE’S A FIGHTER’
Rugby league legend aged 40 placed on life support after sudden collapse
TAKE ‘OLD
Savannah Andrade hopes Women’s Grand Final soon shares Old Trafford stage
PRESSURE
Willie Peters knows demand on Wigan players’ shoulders as Hull KR look to shock
“It was along the lines of adversity being the making of people. I read that when I was injured and that clicked it off.
“My spirit is quite high and that fed into it, it’s worked for me. Being injured like that is a really long time to be off the field and you can have some dark days.”
Marshall, 27, may have notched 150 appearances for his hometown team but there was a time when he wondered if he would make one.
After being told he was not being kept on, he found himself working in an accountancy office – now he can become a hero if he helps Wigan defeat Catalans.
He added: “There were lots of moments I wondered whether I’d make one appearance. It was never really in my mind until halfway through my first first-team pre-season.
“I came in on trial, did a year, was told I’d be released, then was phoned a few weeks later and told they wanted to keep me.
“That was the year where you could go full-time but I was told I wouldn’t be kept on. I worked full-time in an accountancy office and trained part-time with Swinton. In 2016, I was actually weighing up whether to play rugby or not.
“I remember driving home from work and being told I’d get a first team contract here. But it was only around that Christmas when I thought, ‘I could be in with a shot here.
“Luckily enough, I made my debut and as they say, the rest is history. I’d have snatched your hand off at one stage to get just one game.”
Source: Read Full Article