NRL 2024: NSW star Liam Martin set for hostile reception in grand final replay at Suncorp Stadium
Even former Queensland Origin stars have reluctantly fallen in love with the Blues’ back-row Grub, Liam Martin. The same can’t be said for bloodthirsty Broncos and Maroons fans.
Broncos playmaker Ezra Mam has been warned to “get your shoulders ready” as Penrith prepare to unleash their NSW Origin ‘Grub’ Liam Martin in the grand final replay on Friday night.
Martin is set to become public enemy No.1 north of the border with the Penrith and Blues hardman primed to rip and tear twice in the space of 12 days at Suncorp Stadium.
The premiership-winning back-rower will face the Broncos on Friday night at Suncorp before returning to the home of Queensland rugby league on Wednesday week salivating at gatecrashing a Maroons party in the Origin decider.
Martin has fashioned a reputation as the wild man of the NRL and such is his competitive fire, even former Queensland Origin stars have reluctantly fallen in love with the Blues’ back-row Grub.
“Liam Martin would hate his own mother if she was born in Queensland,” said former Maroons and Penrith premiership lock Scott Sattler ahead of the Broncos-Panthers round 18 blockbuster.
“He is a huge threat for the Broncos and the Maroons.
“I don’t think he will care one bit if the fans at Suncorp boo him.
“Guys like Martin thrive in a hostile environment.
“Off the field, he is a great bloke. He is such a nice guy off the field, then he puts the mouthguard in and it’s like a switch goes off in the back of his throat.
“He is a Jekyll-and-Hyde character.
“Liam Martin’s next two games are at Suncorp Stadium so he’s going to be public enemy No.1 in Queensland.
“If NSW win the series in the decider – and I hope I’m wrong there – he will be one of the favourites to win the Wally Lewis Medal.”
The Temora tearaway has been outstanding in the opening two Origin games and Brisbane will have haunting memories of Martin’s ruthless right-edge charges in last year’s NRL grand final.
Martin was among the Penrith heroes who fought back from a 24-8 deficit to pull off a great escape at Homebush, with Nathan Cleary scoring in the dying minutes to win 26-24 and rip the premiership heart out of the Broncos.
Now Martin is back to inflict a reign of terror at Suncorp, starting with the Broncos and chiefly Maroons Origin squad member Mam, who will be defending directly opposite the Blues firebrand on Brisbane’s left edge.
“Liam Martin will be coming after Ezra Mam, so warm your shoulders up Ezra,” said former Broncos skipper and Queensland lock Corey Parker.
THE MARTIN IMAGE THAT WILL FIRE UP QUEENSLAND FANS
“Liam will be looking at which Broncos player he can terrorise and he will be running straight at Ezra Mam in defence.
“I hate to say it as a Queenslander but Liam Martin is one of my favourite players.
“I will tell you why – he takes it personally. He has a dash of madness about him. He simply does not give a f***.
“I love him. He is the type of player who if I was playing, he is exactly the opponent I would want to take on.
“I liken him to a Greg Bird (former Cronulla, Titans and NSW Origin enforcer), he just has that fire and niggle in him.
“I always loved coming up against Greg Bird because he brought out the best in me.
“That’s why you play the game. To test yourself against guys like Bird and Liam Martin.
“I have never met the guy, but I hear Martin is a wonderful bloke off the field.
“It doesn’t matter if he wears a Penrith jersey or NSW jersey, he has this craziness about him and he competes his arse off.
“He walks towards the physicality. He doesn’t walk away from it.”
The Blues and Panthers have a slew of forward enforcers, including the likes of Payne Haas, Angus Crichton, James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota, but Sattler says Martin is the heartbeat of his teams.
“I feel like he sets the levels of intensity for Penrith and the Blues,” he said.
“He is the spiritual leader and that’s why he has to be public enemy No.1 for the Broncos and Queensland.
“If they break him down, they break the spirit of his team.
“Whenever we talk about guys who are Origin players, we usually attribute that to Queensland guys. We always say Maroons guys are Origin players. But Liam Martin is an Origin player if ever I have seen one.
“He embraces everything about Origin, which is brutality, which is confrontation, which is taking your body beyond the limits that you didn’t think your body could do, then finding something extra.
“That’s why he is such a danger.
“If you think the game goes for 80 minutes, Liam Martin is preparing to play golden point.
“He is the closest thing I’ve seen to Mick Crocker (former Maroons and Roosters hit man), he gets under the skin of the opposition through pure physicality and aggression.
“He gets under the skin of players because he loves the competitive nature of the game.
“He has to be regarded as the best back rower in the comp, if not the best back rower in the world.
“Liam Martin loves contact and collision and that’s why he is so successful.”
Broncos winger Jesse Arthars is one of the survivors of his side’s crushing grand-final loss to the Panthers and insists Brisbane players are ready for the Martin-led onslaught, no longer carrying scar tissue from their Homebush horror show.
In pre-season, Brisbane players sat through a replay of their grand-final collapse, then shut the door on a night of pain.
“It was a tough one, no-one wants to lose a grand final,” he said.
“It was player driven (the review of the 2023 grand final). We wanted to see what we did wrong and we wanted to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again.
“We have moved on from it.
“Personally, I look forward to the match-ups with the better players. That’s what you can base your game off, whether you are performing with the top dogs or not, so I’m looking forward to this game.”
You can bet if anyone prises open old wounds, it will be Liam Martin.
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