Te Maire Martin (born 2 October 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth and fullback for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and is a New Zealand international.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1995 Tokoroa, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 87 kg (13 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Five-eighth, Fullback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Martin previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys and Penrith Panthers. Martin took a break from NRL after being diagnosed with a bleed on the brain in April 2019. He returned to the NRL in 2022 with the Brisbane Broncos.
Background
editMartin was born in Tokoroa, New Zealand, and is of Māori descent, specifically the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Waikato Tainui Iwi tribes.
Martin grew up in Taharoa and played his junior football for Turangawaewae before moving to the Gold Coast, Australia and attending Keebra Park State High School on a scholarship.
Martin is related to fellow New Zealand Warriors player, Taine Tuaupiki.
Playing career
edit
Early career
editMartin was signed by the Wests Tigers and played in their Holden Cup team in 2014 and 2015, where he played in 40 matches and scored 15 tries.[2] In both seasons of his Holden Cup career, Martin was named as the five-eighth in the Holden Cup Team of the Year.[3] On 18 October 2014, Martin played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos, playing at five-eighth and kicked the game-winning field goal, giving the Kiwis the 15–14 victory at Mt Smart Stadium.[4] On 2 May 2015, Martin again played for the Junior Kiwis at five-eighth against the Junior Kangaroos, scoring a try in the 22–20 loss at Cbus Super Stadium.[5]
On 24 September 2015, Martin was named in the New Zealand national rugby league team training squad for their tour of Great Britain, but did not make the final squad.[6]
2016
editMartin signed with the Penrith Panthers for the 2016 NRL season and played in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines tournament. In round 3 Martin made his NRL debut playing at five-eighth against the Brisbane Broncos. He scored a try and kicked the match winning field goal in the Panthers 23–22 win at Penrith Stadium.[7][8] After playing just six games in the NRL, he suffered a season ending shoulder injury in Round 8 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[9] He finished off the season playing 6 games, scoring 2 tries and 1 field goal.
On 11 November, Martin made his Test debut for New Zealand, coming off the interchange in their 18-all draw with Scotland.[citation needed]
2017
editAfter starting the season with Penrith and playing seven first grade games, Martin moved to the North Queensland Cowboys mid-season on a three-year deal. In round 17, he made his debut for the North Queensland side, starting at five-eighth against the Canberra Raiders, scoring two tries in his club debut.[10] On 1 October, Martin started at five-eighth in the Cowboys' 2017 NRL Grand Final loss to the Melbourne Storm, scoring the side's only try.
On 5 October, Martin was named in the New Zealand squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[11]
2018
editMartin started at five-eighth in round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, filling in for the injured Michael Morgan and playing alongside Johnathan Thurston for the first time.[12] When Morgan returned in round 3, Martin played of the interchange for a number of games. In June, he started at five-eighth for New Zealand in their 36–18 loss to England at Mile High Stadium in Denver.[13]
Later in the season, Martin shifted to fullback when Morgan was ruled out for the season, playing five games in the position.[14]
2019
editMartin started the 2019 season at five-eighth before moving to fullback in round 3.[15] On 1 May, North Queensland announced that Martin would be sidelined indefinitely with a small bleed on his brain.[16] On 9 July, Martin returned to training but missed the rest of the season.[17] Martin's contract expired following the 2019 season but he remained at North Queensland, undertaking pre-season training in the hope of being cleared to play rugby league again.[18]
2020
editOn 12 January 2020, Martin announced his immediate retirement from rugby league. He revealed that he could not get cleared for contact training, effectively ending his career.[19]
2022
editOn 7 January 2022, the Brisbane Broncos announced Martin would be joining the club ahead of the 2022 NRL season on a Development contract, after more than two years out of the professional ranks of Rugby League.[20] Martin had joined the Brisbane club in late 2021 originally on a train and trial basis however impressed and was thus awarded a permanent spot on the roster. He passed a final medical clearance and will make his return with Broncos affiliate Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the Intrust Super Cup.
"It's great to see Te Maire back in an NRL system. "Prior to his brain injury he was one hell of a player ... hugely skilful, and a very dangerous ball runner. "Te Maire joins us on a development list contract and I've no doubt will be pushing some of our other notable candidates to partner Adam Reynolds in the halves." - Brisbane Head Of Football Ben Ikin. On 2 August 2022, It was announced that Martin would sign with the New Zealand Warriors on a three-year deal from 2023 onwards.[citation needed]
2023
editMartin played nine games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. Martin played in all three finals games as the club reached the preliminary final before being defeated by Brisbane.[21]
2024
editMartin played 16 games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2024 NRL season which saw the club finish 13th on the table.[22]
Statistics
editNRL
edit- *denotes season competing [23]
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Penrith
|
6 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 9 |
| 2017 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 8 | |
| 2017 |  North Queensland
|
12 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 24 |
| 2018 | 23 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 12 | |
| 2022 |  Brisbane Broncos
|
13 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 2023 |  New Zealand Warriors
|
9 | |||||
| 2024 | 16 | 5 | 20 | ||||
| Career totals | 93 | 20 | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 81 | |
International
edit| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  New Zealand
|
1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 12 | |
References
edit- ^ "Te Maire Martin - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 2 October 1995. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ "Te Maire Martin secures future".
- ^ "2015 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. 14 September 2015.
- ^ "Kiwi kids cause Kangaroos upset". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. 18 October 2014.
- ^ DAVID LONG (2 May 2015). "Junior Kangaroos edge Junior Kiwis by two in thriller on Gold Coast". Stuff.
- ^ "Five more added to Kiwis training squad". sports.yahoo.com. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Fatigue put Martin in right place". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. 19 March 2016.
- ^ STEVE ZEMEK (19 March 2016). "Former Junior Kiwi Te Maire Martin boots Penrith Panthers to win on debut". Stuff.
- ^ "Shoulder injury ends Martin s season - Yahoo7". Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ NRL Digital Media (19 June 2017). "Martin signed on multi-year deal". Cowboys. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ Media, NRL Digital. "[RLWC2017] Trio picked for Kiwis".
- ^ Tuxworth, Jon (10 March 2018). "Martin relishing his Cowboys roller coaster ride". Townsville Bulletin.
- ^ "Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories". www.couriermail.com.au.
- ^ "Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories". www.couriermail.com.au.
- ^ "Green challenges Martin to make No.1 his own". National Rugby League. 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Update on Te Maire Martin". North Queensland Cowboys. 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Subscribe to the Townsville Bulletin". www.townsvillebulletin.com.au.
- ^ "Kiwi Te Maire Martin trains with Cowboys ahead of meeting with brain specialist". Stuff. 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Martin announces immediate retirement". North Queensland Cowboys. 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Te Maire Martin Signs One Year Development List Contract with Broncos". 7 January 2022.
- ^ "NRL 2023: New Zealand Warriors season review". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "The Mole's end-of-season review: The 'harsh' Shaun Johnson truth that plagued highly-fancied Warriors". www.nine.com.au.
- ^ "Te Maire Martin - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.