NRL 2022: Brisbane Broncos signing Te Maire Martin opens up on road back after brain bleed

A brain bleed at just 24 could have spelt the end of Te Maire Martin’s NRL career. Here’s how he spent the best part of two years preparing for a miracle return.

Broncos comeback kid Te Maire Martin has declared he won’t play second fiddle to anyone in his NRL resurrection as he makes a stunning return two years after fearing his career was over.

Martin has signed a development contract with the Broncos for the 2022 season which could see him feature in the NRL for the first time since 2019.

A former New Zealand international, Martin was forced to hang up the boots in early 2020 after struggling to overcome the effects of a brain bleed suffered while with the Cowboys in April 2019.

At only 24, it was a premature end to a blossoming career which had already seen the talented playmaker feature in four Tests for the Kiwis.

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After only 55 NRL games, Martin reluctantly returned to his native New Zealand to rest his brain and spent the best part of two years fishing, pig hunting and “pushing sand” as a heavy machine operator.

But his love of rugby league never waned and a soft return to the game at park footy level was followed by a specialist’s clearance that his brain had fully healed and he was ready to play in the NRL again.

Te Maire Martin has been training with the Brisbane Broncos. Picture: Liam Kidston

“It’s been a long two-and-a-half years trying to get back on track,” Martin said.

“You don’t realise how much you’ll miss footy, the club and the boys, until it’s gone. When it’s gone for nearly three years you really feel it and miss it.

“You hear people say they’re excited to be back but I’m truly really happy to be back and fortunate to have the opportunity to come here with Brisbane.

“With the scans I’ve had, the risk of me doing it again is just like anyone else doing it. That was a game changer for me when I heard that.

“There is just as much chance as anyone else getting a brain bleed like I had.

“I’ve had the noggin whacked a few times and it’s been all good.

“It’s not what I want to do, running around hitting my head on walls, but to get through that contact stuff is hard to explain. I’m really stoked.”

A graduate of Keebra Park on the Gold Coast, Martin was one of the NRL’s hottest young prospects when he debuted for Penrith in 2016.

He only managed 13 appearances for the Panthers before being released to North Queensland midway through 2017 to replace the injured Johnathan Thurston.

Martin has been given the all clear by brain specialists. Picture: Liam Kidston

Martin went on to feature in the Cowboys’ grand final loss to Melbourne that year and played 23 games in 2018.

But his rise came to a dramatic halt after seven rounds in 2019 when Martin started to experience brain-injury related symptoms, with scans revealing he had suffered a bleed on the brain.

“When I first had it and got the scans, the doctor said I had a bleed. I was asking how long I’d be out for and if I’d be right for the next game and he said ‘you’ll probably be out for the rest of the year’,” Martin said.

“That was the hardest bit, not being able to play when I really wanted to.

“I couldn’t go outside, I was sensitive to light so I was locking myself in the room. My parents had to come over and cook me meals.

“The specialist at the time said they couldn’t pin down what happened. If I got hit in the head by someone they could say that’s what it was from and if you let it heal you’ll be back.

“But they couldn’t put their finger on how it happened. They went through all the video and I never got a big hit to the head.

“No one said I’d be out forever and couldn’t play again.”

After eight months out of action and reluctant to continue taking up a spot on North Queensland’s roster, Martin announced his retirement on January 12, 2020.

Martin says he won’t be wasting his second opportunity to play NRL.

He returned to New Zealand and quickly discovered that normal life wasn’t for him.

“I was doing a lot of surfing, pig hunting and fishing, keeping myself busy,” he said.

“But that doesn’t pay any bills so I had to go and find myself a job. We didn’t get along too well — me and working.

“The only healing I could do for it was to rest.

“I got a job pushing sand with big machines. It was 12 hours a day sitting down so that healed it pretty well.

“I did that for a year and then carried on with the scans and it got better with the rest and no contact.

“The specialist gave me the green light at the end of last year.

“I’m stoked that’s over because I was pretty much paying rent in the MRI machines. It’s good to get out of those.”

After being offered train and trial contracts by numerous NRL clubs, Martin jumped at the chance to secure a spot on Brisbane’s development list.

He is vying for a spot in the halves alongside Rabbitohs recruit Adam Reynolds and says he won’t waste his second chance in the NRL.

“I’ll take it on-board a bit more,” he said.

“I had a lot of games where I could have done a lot more but I was staying in my safe zone.

“When I went up to the Cowboys I had people like Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan, all you wanted to do was play next to them. You didn’t want to overcall them or anything like that.

“Now that I’ve been away from the game, you realise you don’t get those chances back.

“I want to take the opportunity when it comes and make the most of it because it can be gone at any second.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Brisbane Broncos signing Te Maire Martin opens up on road back after brain bleed