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'I couldn't care less': NSW's biggest 'grub' becoming public enemy number one in Queensland

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Liam Martin won’t bite at Queensland claims he is the “grubbiest” and “dirtiest” NSW player since Paul Gallen, but is willing to give as good as he gets in Origin II on Sunday.

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The Blues backrower was front and back-page news in Queensland on Wednesday, with The Courier Mail anointing him as the new enemy of the state because of the defensive tactics he employed in the series opener.

Still images aimed to show Martin had used his elbow and a swinging arm as the Blues tried to recover from the eventually losing scoreline of 16-10.

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Martin was even compared to former Blues captain Gallen, who famously declared Queenslanders had “two heads”, and earned the disdain of the entire state.

“I’m not quite at his level, he was an outstanding player and the NSW captain,” Martin said on Wednesday.

“I think I’ve got a way to go before I’m on the level of Gal.”

Conceding he “probably” was a bit of a grub, Martin said the Maroons’s tactics to get under his skin wouldn’t affect his state of mind in Perth on Sunday.

“I didn’t really mind it, I couldn’t care less,” he said.

“That’s part of Origin and footy and what happens on the field.

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“I probably am (a bit of a grub) and they’ll be into me and whatever they give I’ll give back.

“I don’t mind it (having a target on my back) and they can come for me all they want and whatever I get I’ll give back.”

Martin made his starting debut in Sydney and will now shift from the right edge to the left following Brad Fittler’s decision to axe Tariq Sims.

That side is full of Penrith teammates giving Martin a sense of comfort as the Blues aim to square the series.

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“I think I’m going to play a bit of both,” Martin said.

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“I have the ability to play on the left and the right and I play on the right at the Panthers.

“I’ve played both sides in the past and having Jarome (Luai) and Nathan (Cleary) alongside me makes it easy to adapt given I’ve played so much with them both.”

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

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