Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has revealed Te Maire Martin is on the verge of a multi-year contract extension after blitzing it in his return from a brain injury that looked to have cut short his NRL career.
The 26-year-old retired in 2020 when unable to recover from a bleed on the brain a year earlier while playing for North Queensland.
Lured to Brisbane where he expected to spend the season in the Queensland Cup, injuries and exits have fast-tracked Martin’s NRL return in the unfamiliar position of fullback.
But in just two games back he’s surprised even Walters with his confident defence and offensive flourish, helping Brisbane improve to 4-4 and into the top eight ahead of Thursday’s clash with South Sydney.
“It’s out of my lane, but we expect to re-sign him for a couple of years,” Walters let slip.
“He’s been really good for us, a good pick up. We didn’t know how quickly he could accelerate, but he’s playing good footy and since he’s been at the back there we look a different team in attack.
“He’s helping Adam in our spine be a little bit more creative; his pass selection is good, skills are great.”
Eager for some continuity, Walters will persevere with Tyson Gamble at five-eighth alongside halfback Reynolds and resist any temptation to shift Martin, who scored a try as a No.6 for the Cowboys in the 2017 grand final loss to Melbourne.
“Not at the moment, he’s doing such a good job back at fullback, we’ll keep him there for the minute,” Walters said, pointing out his selection of try-saving tackles in the last fortnight.
“And he’s surprised us a little bit there (in defence); his organisation is good, gets the numbers right and when he needs to make a tackle he’s in there.”
Fraser
Roar Rookie
I was wrong. Martin can't lose in a Broncos jersey. Give him a million.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
We're feeding off crumbs, mate. A whole piece of toast is cause for celebration!
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
TBH I was one of those suggesting Martin to 5/8 (and like matth, Herbie to FB and Lee to centre). But Gamble looks to have settled/improved at 5/8. So I'm now in the Martin-stay-as-FB camp.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I hope they keep and eye on everyone but Mozer is the guy moving forward. He is already in the NRL squad and just turned 18 I believe.
Kurt S
Roar Pro
Agree that if Martin can keep the defense simmering, he should own the fullback spot. He seems very mature and confident there so why change. Saw the Souths / Falcon game about a month ago and Mam didn't set the world on fire, but Souths looked sloppy in general. One guy that Walters and the scouts might like to keep an eye on is the Falcons Hooker, Tyson Smoothy. He's only young but he is sharp and giving the opposition plenty of grief. He also kicks goals. Some more time in the Q Cup will have him primed for NRL.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
I have to say when i heard he was back, i was shocked. Thrilled at his recovery and happy for him in that regard and that he was able to play again but thought the Broncos were scrapping the barrel bringing him back. He has played way better than i expected, and quite frankly, better than he ever did before. He was a very predictable player for a half, could only pass one way (R to L from memory), always dummied the ran when going L to R and in lower grades could be lazy. So i never rated him that highly. Coming through and had more than his share of issues in terms of behaviour and commitment - hence bouncing around the Bulldogs (i think), Tigers and Penrith systems before landing in Nth QLD but he must have rectified that given the comeback he has had to make. So all power to him, i hope he gets a couple of years.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Well we have Big Del's kid in the system now so they could bring him in but I am happy to see Martin play fullback for the next two years. Like you I am not sure of Herbie as fullback. I have pretty much already moved on from Tesi as a fullback. He can't diffuse the high ball at all, can't organize the defense and makes so may really bad errors that constantly put us defending on our line, which we then can't because we can't organize our defense. The big reason we have lost this year is all the mistakes, 6 agains and penalties that give our opponents great starting position for each set( I would love to see a start for the average starting set positions for opposition teams for when we lost games) and Tesi was a big part of that problem, one Martin has helped fix. But the team in general has cut out those errors and it makes a huge difference. Ezra hasn't set the world on fire yet for Souths this year but he has been decent. We were a pretty bad side in attack for the most part until Sailor played the last game so Ezra has been facing a wall of defenders every time he touches the ball. Hopefully that will be fixed once Mozer plays Q Cup
matth
Roar Guru
I would agree with that. If we were going badly we could consider moves, but we are doing fine at the moment. If there is some necessity of moving from Gamble (and to be honest I'm not a huge fan), then that should be Ezra Mam as the next cab off the rank or Walters once Turpin is available. Martin should stay where he is for continuity until Nui is available and then honestly he may have trouble getting back in the team. PS If we were going terribly and there was a need to move Martin into the five eighth then the logical way to do it would be to push Herbie to fullback and Brenko Lee into the centres, but that would weaken our strike in the centres and I have no idea if Herbie can count numbers.
Nat
Roar Guru
Good on him. A great story for him and the game. From a Broncos fan POV he has been very good in this role. Keep in mind this guy has played in a GF before with NQ so he has good experience and plenty of talent.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
Not my team but great to see a talented player come back.
Rellum
Roar Guru
WHY would you even entertain the idea of moving Martin from fullback, the guy actually organizes the defense plus have no other options at fullback. Moving Martin to 5/8th would be a massive mistake. Gamble is doing a good job there. It is a bizarre push to see Martin at 5/8.
Fraser
Roar Rookie
Awesome news for Martin, however a little over eager from the Broncos manager I think. He's only been back for 2 games!
Chuck
Guest
As a Cowboys fan I am ecstatic to se Te Marie make a comeback, and so successfully as well. He was well liked and respected in his time up north, I am confident I can speak for all Cows fans in wishing him continued success good health for the rest of his career however long that may be.