The newest Toyota Cowboy has made the most of some bye-week downtime by hitting the gym as he prepares for his second game in North Queensland colours.
Young five-eighth Te Maire Martin, 21, has again been named in the No.6 jersey as the team takes on the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Cairns on Sunday, after his successful Cowboys debut against the Raiders in Canberra a fortnight ago.
Martin scored two tries – both courtesy of Michael Morgan passes – and had a hand in another as the Cowboys surged to an impressive 31-18 victory in the nation’s capital.
Following the win, and with the team’s second bye weekend scheduled, Cowboys head coach Paul Green gave his players an extended break from training, the team returning to the gym on Tuesday and their first field session on Wednesday.
But Martin, who is still settling into life as a Cowboy after shifting from the Penrith Panthers mid-season, made the most of the down-time and snuck in a few extra training sessions while sorting out his home life in new surrounds.
“We had a bit of time off and I was here anyway sorting out a permanent place to live, a car and that sort of thing, and I had some extra time, so I came in and did a bit as I know I have a lot of stuff to work on,” Martin said this week.
“With a new team comes new structures to learn, plus before my first game with the Cowboys, I hadn’t played NRL since Round 7 so there’s always plenty to work on physically.”
And so with a personal mandate to school up on Cowboys footy and continue to stay in top shape, Martin feels like the time away from formal training was well spent and is looking forward to his second game for his new club.
“Everyone’s got their role and I’ll be trying to improve on that first game, and one of those areas is my talk and on-field leadership,” he said.
With halves partner Morgan expected to take his place alongside the young Kiwi, Martin now has the inside running to be the team’s first-choice five-eighth for the remainder of the season.
