Martin makes his Cowboys debut

COWBOYS mid-season signing Te Maire Martin will make his North Queensland debut this weekend, with coach Paul Green thrusting him into the halves with Michael Morgan.

Just two weeks after leaving the Panthers to sign with the Cowboys, Martin will be given his first chance with the NRL side when he leads the team into Saturday’s clash against Canberra.

His selection is a sign that Green views him as the longterm replacement for injured halfback Johnathan Thurston (shoulder), with young gun Kyle Laybutt dropped back to reserve grade. Green said Martin had not had much time to work with Morgan, but had full confidence the pair would combine well against the Raiders.

“They haven’t trained a hell of a lot (together) because Morgo has been on Origin duty and those (Origin) guys had the early part of this week off to get them a bit of a freshen up,” Green said.

“But (Martin) is a pretty smart kid and is learning pretty quickly. As long as he does his job, that’s all I ask for at this stage. It’s all pretty new to him. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind.”