Te Maire Martin stands tallest when Warriors need him most

By Alex Powell

With everything he’s been through in his professional career, it’s hard to fathom that Warriors half Te Maire Martin is still only 28.

Since his debut for the Penrith Panthers in 2016, Martin has played 84 games across stints with four different clubs, been to a grand final, been to a World Cup for the Kiwis and suffered what could have been a career-threatening condition.

When Johnathan Thurston retired at the end of 2018, it was Martin who the North Queensland Cowboys backed to take his place in the halves, and fill the boots of one of the greatest players to ever grace the NRL.

Following his return to playing in 2022 after a premature retirement due to a brain bleed, Martin has predominantly been used as a fullback by the Brisbane Broncos, and at five-eighth by the Warriors.

Martin started the 2023 season as the first-choice five-eighth, before a broken leg sidelined him for most of the year and Luke Metcalf emerged as Johnson’s standout halves partner.

Were it not for Metcalf suffering a broken leg of his own earlier this year, Martin might not have even had the chance to take the field before last weekend’s win.

On Sunday though, as an injury-ravaged side took the field against Penrith, Martin was the architect of one of the Warriors’ all-time great NRL victories.

Deputising at halfback for the injured Shaun Johnson in a side looking to avoid a fifth straight loss, Martin laid on three try assists, threw three linebreak assists and made 20 tackles in 80 minutes’ work.

The display was a marked improvement on his last stint at halfback, which came in a 32-6 loss to the Panthers in the opening week of last season’s finals.

And according to Warriors coach Andrew Webster, the difference between now and then is more than apparent.

“Te Maire did that role last year, at the back end when Shaun wasn’t playing,” said Webster.

“The nerves and confidence were completely different last week. He was so confident all week.

“I loved it.”

With Johnson out for Sunday’s clash against the Dolphins, Martin will continue in the No 7 jersey alongside Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad for one of the unlikeliest halves pairing to take the field for the Warriors.

What’s more, Martin’s combination with Dylan Walker at lock, himself only starting after a late scratching for captain Tohu Harris, was a key standout in the Warriors’ victory.

But speaking on Wednesday, Walker revealed things weren’t straightforward for Martin against the Panthers.

“I thought he did really well,” he said. “I thought he controlled the game.

“The best part about it was [that] he probably wasn’t kicking well at the start. To bounce back from that, laying on tries in important moments, just shows the character and resilience he had during the game.

“His performance in the weekend was gutsy. I think he broke his finger, or hurt his finger pretty early on.

“He’s a tough little bugger.”

On Sunday, when the Warriors host the Dolphins at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium before their first bye of the year, Webster will have at the very least three players back from the inflated casualty ward.

Rocco Berry is back in the centres, while Freddy Lussick starts at hooker in place of the concussed Wayde Egan.

Marata Niukore will also start on the interchange bench for his first appearance of the season.

That could potentially become four players back from injury, after Chanel Harris-Tavita was named on an extended bench in the No 20 jersey.

Harris-Tavita could have returned in the halves and allowed Webster to move Nicoll-Klokstad back to his preferred fullback position.

But despite the options available, Webster is ready to back the side that toppled the Panthers for a second straight week.

“[There was] definitely a temptation. Everyone liked how things went last week, we liked it too.

“We’ll keep it how it is for now, and just see how that goes.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission