Thurston spot may suit Martin to a Te
JASON Taumalolo has challenged Te Maire Martin to prove he should be Johnathan Thurston’s successor in North Queensland as the new Cowboys five-eighth confronts his sliding doors moment.
Martin has been impressive in his two matches since joining from Penrith mid-season.
The 21-year-old has not looked out of place in the No.6 alongside a dominant Michael Morgan and, importantly, hasn’t overplayed his hand.
After realising he had no future at Penrith, Martin was
deep in talks to return to link with the Warriors, however the deal collapsed late.
Martin’s signature proved crucial following Thurston’s season-ending shoulder injury.
Now the Warriors have been left gutted by a serious knee injury to Shaun Johnson.
Martin could have been lining up in the halves for the
Warriors at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday but instead will hope to help North Queensland to their fourthstraight win without Thurston, set to retire at the end of 2018.
Taumalolo said it was up to his fellow Kiwi to prove he was the man for job long term.
“He’s been playing great footy,” Taumalolo said.
“If he wants that it’s there for him. He can’t be too complacent in the team when there are a lot of boys competing for the spot. If Te Maire really wants that long-term spot he’s got to work for it.
“At the moment he is slowly learning how we play as a team and he’s buying into what we are as a club. It’s great to see.”
Cowboys captain Gavin Cooper has patrolled the left edge next to Martin since his arrival and has been impressed with the youngster’s start.
“He’s chimed in with a couple of good things in the past couple of weeks,” he said.