Blair backs Cowboys star to step up
Kiwis captain Adam Blair is backing young five-eighth Te Maire Martin to step up in today’s Rugby League World Cup clash against Scotland in Christchurch.
The 22-year-old North Queensland playmaker sat out the Kiwis’ first-up 38-8 win over Samoa in Auckland last Saturday, as he finished recovering from a knee injury that plagued him throughout the Cowboys run to the NRL grand final.
Halfback Shaun Johnson partnered well with Brisbane Broncos five-eighth
Kodi Nikorima as the
Kiwis ran in seventries-to-two at Mt Smart Stadium, but Blair is confident Martin will slot comfortably into the No 6 role against the Bravehearts.
The Tokoroa-born product made his test debut off the bench last year in the Kiwis 18-18 draw with Scotland during the Four Nations campaign in England, but has taken his game to another level since making the midseason shift from Penrith to Townsville.
Martin grew in confidence in the Cowboys halves alongside Kangaroos star Michael Morgan, and gained invaluable big game experience despite their eventual defeat to Melbourne in the season decider.
“Te Maire’s had an outstanding back-half of his NRL year at the Cowboys,” said Blair. “He’s obviously played in a few big games so he understands the pressure that comes with playing on the big stage.
“For us and for me, it’s making sure that he’s clear [and that] he knows what he needs to do and goes out there and gets it right on the night.”
The Kiwis are focused on being more clinical after a slew of errors marred their first-half effort against Samoa. Loose offloads and pushed passes saw scoring chances go begging and Blair says his side need to maintain their composure on attack and be more selective with their attempts at playing expansive football. With Tonga looming as a dangerous opponent in next week’s third pool encounter in Hamilton, the Kiwis can ill-afford another patchy display despite seven changes to their line-up.
“We did drop a lot of ball in our last game but it’s about making sure that we execute those plays,” said Blair. “Some of them were just individual handling errors, like an offload here or there that should have been held.
“Those things are easily fixed. We fix those up, we complete really high, and we’ll give ourselves every chance. “It’s all about being better on the journey. We weren’t at our best, we made a lot of errors, and this is a stepping stone towards where we want to go.
“And once we start getting deeper into the competition, the competition gets harder, so we need to make sure that every time we do turn up on the field we’re making better from the previous game.”
The Kiwis remain wary of a Scotland side coming off a 50-4 thrashing by Tonga, with last year’s result in Workington ensuring they pay their opposition due respect.
“They’re a team that never gives up. I know the score [against Tonga] was a bit of a blowout in the end but they kept fighting right until the last minute.
“That’s been our drive right throughout this tournament — making sure that no matter who is in front of us that we respect them first and then we do our jobs.
“They’ll be ready to go for us. The confidence will be high after the last time we played them but then they’re coming off a defeat which they’ll want to make up for.”
Meanwhile, Blair reminded fans to keep things in perspective following a string of violent clashes between Tongan and Samoan supporters in Auckland this week. “It is a game and we’re passionate about what we do and everyone needs to be respectful of what’s going on,” he said.