Benji Marshall isn’t sure if 2020 will be his final year in the NRL, but if it is, he’ll be giving his all to make sure he goes out a winner with Wests Tigers.

It’s why the Tigers veteran decided to make himself unavailable for New Zealand Maori selection for the upcoming All Stars clash, as well as the NRL Nines in Perth.

“Because I played for the Kiwis (after last season), I only started back training in January,” Marshall explained to foxsports.com.au.

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Round 19

“Obviously you need to give your body a full preparation to be able to play and I want to make sure I’m ready to play for the Tigers.

“If this is my last year, I want to make sure I do everything I can to be able to give to that.

“It would’ve been a bit selfish of myself to choose otherwise, and without being fully ready to play, risk more injury.

“This season’s a bit more important to me.”

Marshall waited until the Tigers’ 2019 campaign was over before he re-signed with the club on a one-year deal for this season.

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The 34-year-old said he’d be taking the exact same approach as he did last year.

“It’s a long year. The past three years I’ve said it’s my last year as well,” Marshall laughed.

“I think what you do is you get to the end of the year, and for me, what’s been working is pretending it’s my last year or just acting like it’s my last year, and then if it is, then it is and I’ve enjoyed it like it is.

“If it isn’t, then I’ll make that decision at the end of the season like I did for this year.”

The Tigers have the longest current finals drought in the NRL stretching back to 2011.

To make things more frustrating for the club and its supporters, the side has finished ninth three times in the past four seasons.

While many would regard a top-eight finish a success for the club, Marshall was aiming much higher.

An emotional Marshall prior to New Zealand’s Test against Tonga last June. Source: Getty Images

“Not just that, win (the grand final),” Marshall said.

“Everyone wants to win the competition, so if you’re not aiming for that you’re in the wrong industry.

“For me, I want to win. I want to go out winning and I’ve got a lot of belief in our squad that we can do that.

“We just need to put into practice all the things we’ve been doing in the pre-season.”

Benji Marshall wound back the clock for the Tigers in 2019. Source: AAP

Marshall said the squad, which has welcomed the likes of Joey Leilua, Luciano Leilua, Adam Doueihi in recent weeks, “absolutely” had the talent to go all the way.

“The thing is, when you’re in a team you have to have belief in your teammates and they have to see that belief and then you build trust,” he explained.

“In 2005, no one gave us a chance, but we had the belief in the side and that rubbed off on everyone and we ended up winning that year.

“I know a lot of people are writing us off which is all good, but we’ve got to believe in ourselves and make sure that we’re all on the same page about winning.”