Newstalk ZB's D'Arcy Waldegrave and the NZ Herald's Bonnie Jansen get together to preview the weekend's sport. Video / NZ Herald
In time it might become known as the Warriors fishing club.
As often as their busy schedules allow, five-eighth Te Maire Martin takes a few of his teammates out into the Hauraki Gulf to try their luck as an antidote to the pressures of the job.
Sometimes it’s a decent expedition, launching from Omaha and heading out to Little Barrier Island, and on other occasions it is close by, with a short hop to spots around Waiheke Island from Mission Bay.
”It keeps us busy and keeps us happy,” Martin told the Herald. “Everyone likes it. Someone had to bite the bullet and get a boat because everyone [else] is playing golf.”
At different times Martin, who will play his second NRL match of the season against Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday, has been accompanied by Jazz Tevaga, Mitch Barnett and Dylan Walker in his new 2100 Stabicraft.
”The boys love it,” said Martin, who has recently become an ambassador for Woodbine Marine. “Even getting into some spearfishing, it’s been fun, a bit of swimming around. My truck is a bit old – so it takes ages to get where we want to go – and obviously we can’t do it all the time but when we can, really enjoying it.”
Martin, who is also a keen hunter, is in a good place. Despite the intensity and demands of the sport, he maintains a remarkably relaxed persona.
“I suppose you could say that,” laughed Martin. “I’m taking everything in at the moment. I’m enjoying footy, but I am also enjoying outside of footy. So I’m just happy, if I have a bad day at training I keep myself happy off the field.”
Te Maire Martin in action for the Warriors. Photo / Photosport
The strategy is working, judging on Martin’s start to the season. After being passed over in favour of Luke Metcalf for an NRL spot, he was a standout in the NSW Cup, before making a rollicking return to first grade last Saturday, with an assured performance in the 34-4 win over Souths.
It wouldn’t have been easy to play reserve grade, given Martin has featured in an NRL grand final and played four tests for his country, but he set an example for the rest of the squad.
“Honestly it didn’t bother me,” said Martin. “I just wanted to play footy. I suppose if I had a solid year last year where I was happy with how I was playing and I thought I had done enough to play first grade then I would [be]. But there were a lot of setbacks. So I wasn’t too fussed – I was just happy to be back out there.”
Martin remains an intense competitor – one of the toughest on the Warriors roster, if you talk to teammates – but has gained a new perspective, especially since the brain bleed he suffered in 2019 which forced his premature retirement, before he eventually returned via club footy in the Waikato, then the Broncos in 2022.
”I am not as caught up as I would have been a few years ago when I was playing,” he said. “I am just going with the flow.”
Shaun Johnson celebrates with Te Maire Martin. Photo / Photosport
It meant a long rehabilitation. He made it back by September, featuring in all three playoff games, before reinjuring his leg in the preliminary final defeat in Brisbane. The pressure created by the inserted plate on the bone caused a stress reaction, essentially a crack, lower down the leg.
”I played the rest of the game out but it was sore,” said Martin. “I came back home and I wasn’t too sure what it was. Then a week later I was still limping around so I got scans and sure enough. The whole year injured and then you get injured again in the last game. A bit frustrating.”
Martin spent most of the offseason in a moon boot and didn’t resume full training until January. Since then his progress has been impressive. Metcalf got the inside running in pre-season before his unfortunate injury against Newcastle, and now Martin has the chance to establish himself.
He is an ideal foil for Johnson, with underrated playmaking ability, a handy short-kicking game and tough defence. Despite making his debut in early 2016, Martin has still only accumulated 79 NRL games. But he’s a veteran of four NRL environments (Panthers, Cowboys, Broncos and Warriors) and the next chapter could be the best yet.
“When you’ve got a great attitude, you’re fit, you’re healthy, you want to work hard, it’s going to happen for you eventually, especially if you’ve got talent,” said coach Andrew Webster. “Te Maire’s got it all and his work ethic, and being a good person, is going to get him where he wants to, so he just needs a bit of luck with his body, and he’ll get it.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.
