Why Te Maire Martin Can Make The Warriors A Genuine Title Contender
After thirteen rounds of the NRL season, the New Zealand Warriors find themselves sitting in third on the ladder with just three losses and nine wins. To majority of NRL fans, the Warriors have shot up out of nowhere after a abysmal 2024 season which saw them finish in thirteenth. In fact, the Warriors have already matched their win tally from 2024 in 2025. So the Warriors are flying, but it is probably fair to say that they are not on the same level as their top four opponents. Currently, the general consensus is that the Storm, Bulldogs and Raiders are the three teams firmly in premiership contention, so why not the Warriors? On paper, the Warriors actually have a better record than the Storm but their are certainly issues in the Warriors that so far have not shown themselves, but it feels like a matter of time. The main one is their attack. The Warriors have the sixth worse attack in the comp so far, only scoring 251 points. They also have the second worse attack of a team in the top eight, with only Dragons worse who are sitting on the edge in the eighth spot. This does not have to be a massive problem though. For example the Bulldogs have only scored 25 more points, but they have conceded 44 less giving them the best defence in the comp. So far in the Warriors 12 games, they have only scored more than 20 points in five games. As a result their point difference sits at a whopping five. In their three games against top four opponents, they’ve scored a total of 32 points. Since the beginning of the NRL era, the lowest point differential for a premiership winner was the Wests Tigers in 2005 who finished with a point differential of 101 and overall out of the 27 premiership winners only nine of them had a point differential lower than 200.
In contrast to their attack, the Warriors have the fifth best defence in the competition, and aside from the Melbourne game no team has scored more than 30 against the Warriors this season. This should give Warriors fans hope. If they are able to build on their attack and develop it into a genuine force then they will absolutely be able to put themselves into contention. But it is important this is done now. If they rest on their laurels and make little to no change then the outcome will inevitably be an early finals exit or worse. Against teams such as Melbourne, Canberra and Canterbury, having a great defence is not enough as they can be so potent offensively so you have to have a similar level of attacking prowess to match that. So the question naturally is; do the Warriors have that attacking prowess and how can they unlock it? In my opinion, the key to unlocking it has spent time bouncing between the Warriors interchange and NSW cup side this year, Te Maire Martin.
Te Maire Martin is an experienced campaigner who came into the NRL in 2016 and has played for the Panthers, Cowboys, Broncos and now the Warriors since his debut. Martin originally debuted for the Panthers before he moved the North Queensland in 2017, he was a key part in their 2017 grand final run and started alongside Jonathan Thurston in the halves for the final in which he scored the Cowboys only try. In 2019, Martin announced that he would be out for the season as doctors had found a bleed on his brain, the following year he announced his retirement from rugby league as he was unable to be cleared to play by his medical team. Miraculously, two years later it was announced Martin had signed for the Broncos for the 2022 season after impressing in pre-season. He played 13 games for the Broncos in 2022 and at the end of the season it was announced he would be returning to New Zealand to play for the Warriors from 2023 onwards. He only featured nine times for Warriors in their record breaking 2023 campaign, but in 2024 he proved his worth.
Here are two players stats while playing halfback during the 2024 NRL season
Player A:
Record ~ 5-3
Trys ~ 3
Try Assists ~ 14
Line Break Assists ~ 12
Line Breaks ~ 3
Tackle Breaks ~ 12
Stats
Player B:
Record ~ 7-1
Trys ~ 4
Try Assists ~ 10
Line Break Assists ~ 9
Line Breaks ~ 3
Tackle Breaks ~ 18
If you had not guessed Player A is Te Maire Martin, and Player B is Nathan Cleary in his first eight gull games at halfback. Honestly I could end the article there as I think that says enough as to why he needs to be in the team, but I won’t. What it does show us is how ridiculously talented Martin is and also that he’d undoubtedly have an impact on the side if given a proper chance.
Lets look at it from the perspective of this current Warriors side and how he fits. Luke Metcalf is leading the Dally M votes at halfback so it is not at halfback. While Te Maire massively impressed there last year, that’s not the role that needs to be fixed. I would definitely slot Te Maire in at five-eighth. In terms of ball playing, Chanel Harris-Tavita has actually been the dominant half for the Warriors this year. He has thrown 376 passes to Metcalf 373. Overall it’s a good balance. In our current system, our five-eighth is being used more as a first or second receiver, leaving Metcalf out the back where he is more comfortable and also more dangerous as a ball runner. If Metcalf had a true ball player inside him, then his possibilities would be endless. Chanel is not that. Chanel is an incredible defender, has a good long range kicking game and a strong running game. Te Maire is also a sound defender, and was actually preferred to Chanel defending on an edge in the Broncos game. When Te Maire came on he defended as the five-eighth and Chanel defended through the middle, they then switched roles on attack. A concern with Te Maire has always been his kicking, while it is not as good as Chanel’s particularly if we are talking long range, I think Metcalf has shown enough with his in game kicking to be given the reigns as our dominant kicker particularly when kicking out of trouble. The game plan can also be adjusted to deal with this, something the Bulldogs do when Toby Sexton plays without Matt Burton is they’ll often kick earlier than fifth when they’re struggling for metres, a strategy the Warriors could absolutely adopt.
Overall, given how the Warriors are deploying their halves and struggling in attack, I believe Te Maire Martin’s ball playing skills is the key to unlocking the Warriors potential as genuine title contenders. If they were to simply switch Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin I think a lot of their issues could be solved. Wayde Egan then has a genuine back up on the bench to come on to relieve him of about 20-25 minutes and keep him fresh as we go deep into the season and Luke Metcalf has a threatening ball playing half which can pull defenders attention off of him creating nightmares for edge defenders. The question is, will Andrew Webster pull the trigger? Honestly, I don’t think he will, but I firmly believe he should.
