You gotta clean Thurston's boots first cuzzy.

In a previous era (a couple of years ago) Te Maire Martin slipping out of NRL footy due to a lack of form would have hit my #KiwiNRL hard, like a Taiaha straight to my heart. Martin was the premier up and coming half out of Aotearoa, which in itself was impressive given that Aotearoa tended to produce more wingers and forwards than classy halves. In 2017 though, as the #KiwiNRL takeover continues, we've got halves doing their thing across the NRL and Martin's plateau has largely been ignored.

We've seen Kodi Nikorima put his hand up as a long-term Brisbane halfback, Ata Hingano is simmering away nicely with the Warriors, Fa'amanu Brown continues to step up for Cronulla during Origin and will move to the Bulldogs next season, Tuimoala Lolohea is currently playing in the halves for Wests Tigers and then you've got youngsters who are yet to crack NRL footy like Penrith's Jerome Luai, or Chanel Harris-Tavita at the Warriors and Canberra's Paul Roache (Nathaniel's lil bro) has been joined by Erin Clark. Heck, chuck in Jamayne Isaako who has been listed on Brisbane's extended bench many times this season as outside back cover after playing fullback and No.6 for the Junior Kiwis and there's plenty of depth in the key play-making spots.

So we haven't really felt the impact of Martin's plateau, which has conveniently come in his second season of NRL footy. Now the kid out of the Waikato will move to North Queensland Cowboys for the rest of this season, signing a two-year deal with an eye on being a long-term replacement for Jonathan Thurston.

Martin was dropped from Penrith's NRL team after their slow start to the season. Warriors fans and kiwi media are bonkers because they don't realise that there are other teams like Penrith who had higher expectations placed on them and did far worse against those expectations than the Warriors did in the opening stanza of the season. Penrith were the hottest team heading into this season and Martin was a casualty of the Panthers not living up to the hype.

Penrith have turned things around, yet that's come with skipper Matt Moylan moving to the halves, taking Martin's spot. Martin initially got replaced by Bryce Cartwright but the Moylan/Nathan Cleary combination is working well and with youngster Luai coming through their Under 20s side, Penrith have plenty of options in the halves, let alone blokes who can play fullback to keep Moylan in the halves. That leaves Martin as surplus to requirements and other NRL clubs pounced that the chance to give him a crack.

Apparently the Cowboys were joined by Wests Tigers and the Warriors. Martin came through Under 20s with the Tigers, leaving them for Penrith and in a funky little twist, had Martin joined the Warriors, he would have linked up with Manaia Cherrington who was hooker at the Tigers and 2014 Junior Kiwis alongside Martin. The Tigers signed Josh Reynolds while the Warriors already have Hingano which flows nicely into the opportunity to soak up Thurston's greatness.

A little sidenote: that 2014 Junior Kiwis team has seen Martin, Nikorima, Cherrington, Taane Milne, Sam Lisone, Addin Fonua-Blake, Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Josh Aloiai and Danny Levi move into regular NRL game time. Tapine and Asofa-Solomona played on either edge for the Junior Kiwis (!!).

North Queensland always have their post-Thurston future in mind and although Martin will likely keep a reserve grade spot in Queensland's Intrust Super Cup with Thurston and Michael Morgan an almighty combination, there'll be opportunities for Martin this year.

Martin could sneak into the Cowboys line up after game two of Origin, against Penrith which would be super duper funky. That depth offered by signing Martin immediately is great for the Cowboys and other little bites of NRL footy could come if Morgan shifts to fullback for whatever reason, or if Martin could nail a bench utility spot. Both are unlikely though as it would take an injury to Lachlan Coote and even then Kalyn Ponga's still up in Townsville, while Ben Hampton is holding down that bench spot thanks to his ability to cover the halves and hooker.

So Martin's just gonna have to chill. When you consider that Martin will be chillin' like a villain with Thurston, talking footy with him and picking up all sorts of tips from the GOAT, it's a decent place to be chillin'. Martin has effectively gone from being a second-string half at Penrith, to being a second-string half at North Queensland. The difference is Thurston.
Speaking on his move, Martin highlighted how he signed with Penrith to play NRL footy. Now he's moving to North Queensland because he knows that there's plenty of time to learn off of Thurston. That's a complete switch in thinking from Martin and it's completely understandable as a kid matures into an adult and comes to terms with adversity.

After being knee-deep in footy adversity, Martin's come out of this with an opportunity to not only better himself with the wisdom up in Townsville, he's now got a chance of ensuring that the Cowboys maintain their standing as a top-tier NRL club. Something that took a lot of time and hard graft to get, now some of that responsibility fall on the shoulders of a young #KiwiNRL half with a lot to prove.

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