Liam Martin wins Clive Churchill Medal to prove he is heartbeat of epic Penrith Panthers run

Jarome Luai was in a mood. Nathan Cleary was sublime. But the heartbeat of this Penrith victory – and four-year dynasty – was Liam Martin, who now has the silverware to back it up.

He has been labelled a “grub”.

Now Liam Martin is the best back-rower on the planet.

A NSW version of Gorden ‘The Raging Bull’ Tallis has arrived. And here’s the scary part: Martin could prove every bit as good as Tallis, the former Queensland Origin skipper renowned for his blazing eyes and playing with a ferocity that is now emblematic of Penrith’s back-row ironman.

The 2024 grand-final narrative all week was dominated by the dissection of a quinella of champion scrumbases.

Would Melbourne’s Jahrome Hughes outwit Penrith wunderkind Nathan Cleary? Would Panthers pivot Jarome Luai act as kryptonite for Storm magician Cameron Munster in his last ride before joining Wests Tigers?

All the while, Martin was menacingly lurking on the edges ready to make a statement. He did so in emphatic fashion, leaving Accor Stadium with the Clive Churchill Medal – 26 years after Tallis was best-on-ground for Brisbane in the 1998 decider.

“It’s so surreal, I can’t believe it,” Martin said, choking back tears.

Liam Martin is the best back-rower on the planet — and he has the silverware to prove it. Picture: Getty Images

“This showed the character we have. I was gone out there, but the boys dragged me along.”

Martin is too humble. He dragged Penrith out of the trenches.

Penrith’s 14-6 defeat of the Storm on Sunday night marked their fourth consecutive title win and stamps them as the most dominant rugby league juggernaut in six decades, dating back to the St George dynasty of 1956-66.

Luai was in the mood from his first touch. Cleary, playing tough with a damaged shoulder, was sublime with two try assists and six tackle busts.

But the heartbeat of this Penrith victory – and four-year dynasty – is Martin, the curly-haired Penrith No.12 with the hitting power of Gillmeister, the relentless workrate of Brad Clyde and the fire of Gorden ‘The Raging Bull’ Tallis.

There are several brilliant back-rowers in the code today, but Martin is in a league of his own after this mesmeric grand-final display.

Liam Martin is in a league of his own.

Luai and Cleary superbly pulled the strings to engineer a dominance that makes Penrith Australian sport’s version of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, but it was Martin’s incessant industry that laid the bedrock.

The Temora terrier bends, twists and shapes the outcome of big games through his sheer will. He did it in State of Origin this year. And, yet again, with Penrith’s dynasty seemingly on the brink of crumbling following the departure of a slew of stars, Martin put a stake in the ground.

It started early with his singular attacks on Storm foe Munster and when he ran a superb line off Cleary 60 seconds before halftime to give Penrith a 10-6 lead at the break, the Panthers could smell blood.

Never satisfied, Martin would not relent. He stripped Jack Howarth two minutes after halftime. On the hour, Cleary put up a bomb and there was Martin, leaping high, retrieving, and offloading for Paul Alamoti to score what prove the match-winner.

Just one Panther managed 40 tackles. Guess who? Martin, who finished with 43 and, at just 27, now has four premiership rings, ensuring Penrith’s back-row still has a dynamic punch, two years after blockbusting Viliame Kikau joined the Bulldogs.

In terms of quality, this was a ripping grand final. It was played at a breakneck speed from the opening whistle and such was the clinical, military discipline and precision of both teams, they barely had a moment to suck in the Homebush oxygen.

At the 34-minute mark of the first half, the ball was out of play just 96 seconds.

Extraordinary.

The Storm got the jump on Penrith out of the blocks – Harry Grant scored the opening try in the 22nd minute – but champion teams hold their nerve and amid Melbourne’s pressure, the Panthers stayed as cool as an Alaskan igloo.

The contest went end-to-end and the teams could have easily been bound by an imperceptible rubber-band. Every time the Storm threatened to bounce away, the Panthers rebounded to ensure the domination and separation was never too great.

Liam Martin celebrates scoring a try with Panthers teammate Dylan Edwards. Picture: Getty Images

Penrith’s 10-6 halftime lead was a tribute to their big-game discipline and Melbourne’s midfield erosion. The Storm desperately missed the engine-room presence of 130kg giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona, which amplified the heat on starting props Tui Kamikamica and Josh King as Penrith went for the jugular in the middle third.

By halftime, every major statistical indicator suggested the Storm were haemorraghing and hanging on. Penrith had 74 per cent of territory. Unheard of. The Storm missed 17 tackles to six. Without ‘NAS’, the Storm managed just 640 metres to Penrith’s 914m.

In the opposition half, Penrith had 51 tackles to 21. In the red zone, it was 24-5. Melbourne were dragged into a hurt locker of fatigue and Penrith, so familiar with executing in the big dance, turned the screws.

While this was a fabulous triumph for Martin, his coach, Ivan Cleary, has erased any scintilla of doubt.

The Penrith mentor now stands alongside Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy, the man he outwitted on Sunday night, as a bona fide rugby league super coach.

It took 15 years for Cleary to win his first NRL premiership and there were question marks as to whether he would ever get King Kong off his back.

But he and son Nathan are now a formidable coach-and-playmaking force, writing a fourth consecutive fairytale that may not be replicated for another half-century.

There is a view the loss of Luai, James Fisher-Harris and Sunia Turuva could herald the demise of the Panthers next season.

But as long as they have the talismanic Cleary clan and the unrelenting might of Martin, only a fool would dismiss Penrith striving for five in 2025.