One New Zealand Warriors utility Te Maire Martin has tonight completed one of the longest and, at the same time, most heartwarming, journeys to 100 NRL appearances in the game’s history, one which he has coincidentally achieved against the club where it started.
It was with Penrith that the Tahora-raised Martin, then 20, scored a try and kicked a late field goal on debut in a 23-22 win over Brisbane.
And now nine years, three months and two days later he has made it to his 100th.
That he has reached this point is utterly remarkable; because, when he was with North Queensland, his career appeared to be over in April 2019 after being diagnosed with a bleed on the brain after his 55th career appearance. He subsequently announced his retirement in January 2000.
While he thought it was over then, Martin was cleared to return in 2021, making his comeback through local football in New Zealand initially before being signed by Brisbane for the 202 season.
His first game back in the NRL was at fullback when he helped the Broncos beat the Bulldogs 34-14 in round seven; it was against the Bulldogs that he’d played his last game three years earlier.
His trek to the NRL started when he came into the Wests Tigers’ system at the renowned Keebra Park State High School from where he went on to play for the Tigers in the NYC competition in 2014 and 2015 (where Andrew Webster was coach before his first stint as an NRL assistant coach with the Warriors).
At his first NRL stop with Penrith, Martin scored four tries in 13 appearances in 2016 and 2017 followed by 10 tries in 42 games for the Cowboys from 2017-2019.
In the second edition of his career he scored one try in 13 games for the Broncos and has so far added five tries in 31 games since joining the Warriors in 2023.
Martin has made a winning debut for each of his four clubs - Penrith (23-22 v Brisbane), North Queensland (31-18 v Canberra), Brisbane (34-14 Canterbury Bankstown) and the Warriors (20-12 v Newcastle).
