Te Maire Martin


Te Maire Martin is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played as a five-eighth and for the North Queensland Cowboys and Penrith Panthers in the NRL and New Zealand at international level.

Background

Martin was born in Tokoroa, New Zealand, and is of Māori descent, specifically Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Waikato Tainui Iwi.
Martin played his junior football for Turangawaewae before moving to the Gold Coast, Australia and attended Keebra Park State High School on a scholarship.

Playing career

Early career

Martin 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. In both seasons of his Holden Cup career, Martin was named as the five-eighth in the Holden Cup Team of the Year. 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. 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.
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.

2016

Martin 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. After playing just 6 games in the NRL, he suffered a season ending shoulder injury in Round 8 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. 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.

2017

After starting the season with the Panthers 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 Cowboys, starting at five-eighth against the Canberra Raiders, scoring 2 tries in his club debut. 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.

2018

Martin 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. 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.
Later in the season, Martin shifted to fullback when Morgan was ruled out for the season, playing five games in the position.

2019

Martin started the 2019 season at five-eighth before moving to fullback in Round 3. On 1 May, the Cowboys announced that Martin would be sidelined indefinitely with a small bleed on his brain. On 9 July, Martin returned to training but missed the rest of the season. Martin's contract expired following the 2019 season but he remained at the Cowboys, undertaking pre-season training in the hope of being cleared to play rugby league again.

2020

On 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.

Statistics

NRL

International