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\n Te Maire Martin has signed a one-year deal that will keep him at the Warriors next season. (Scott Radford-Chisholm\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
Warriors coach Andrew Webster has taken the extraordinary step of using a referee’s whistle to combat so-called “crap” questions at his weekly press conference.<\/p>\n
As the fifth-placed Warriors fight to get their NRL season back on track, a cheeky Webster told reporters in Auckland they would be “put in the (sin) bin” if they erred in their lines of inquiry.<\/p>\n
Webster made good on his promise when prodded about his halves combination, an area of vulnerability since the side lost talisman Luke Metcalf to a season-ending knee injury.<\/p>\n
Te Maire Martin is missing this week’s clash with St George Illawarra after suffering a concussion against Canterbury, his first game replacing Tanah Boyd at halfback.<\/p>\n
A look at some of the key storylines to follow in Round 24 of the NRL season. (Jasper Bruce\/AAP VIDEO)<\/p>\n
After this week, the choice between Boyd and Martin could be season-defining for former top-four side the Warriors, who are on a three-game losing streak and still not locked in for finals.<\/p>\n
Asked how he saw the halves conundrum playing out once Martin was available, Webster blew the whistle.<\/p>\n
“If I have a crap response, you can whistle me too, but I’m not going to pick next week’s team (now),” Webster said.<\/p>\n
The Warriors confirmed on Wednesday that Martin had signed a one-year deal that would keep him at the club next season.<\/p>\n
Webster blew the whistle again when quizzed whether the club had previously told 29-year-old Martin they would need to prioritise younger players for next season.<\/p>\n
“I’ve certainly never told Te Maire that I didn’t want him, and that’s the truth, not through him, not through his agent,” Webster said.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never said to Te Maire that I want the youth over you. Never. That’s why the whistle went there because that’s so far from the truth.”<\/p>\n
\n Te Maire Martin has signed a one-year deal that will keep him at the Warriors next season. (Scott Radford-Chisholm\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
Martin has impressed Webster across 13 games this season, most of which have come as the Warriors’ bench utility.<\/p>\n
But the coach conceded he’d left the Warriors vulnerable by dropping Boyd and promoting Martin last week, given the move left the side without their Mr Fix-It.<\/p>\n
“I thought Te Maire forced his way into the team, I thought he’d played really good football,” Webster said<\/p>\n
“But at the same time I got it wrong, didn’t I? Because next minute Te Maire got injured and we’ve only got one half. That’s just life.”<\/p>\n
Speculation Jett Cleary, brother of NRL superstar Nathan, could make his first-grade debut in the halves came to nothing, with Boyd named to return from a week in the wilderness.<\/p>\n
Webster said he’d never lost faith in the former Gold Coast Titan, who had worn Metcalf’s No.7 jersey for four weeks.<\/p>\n
“(Boyd) had things he had to go back to (NSW) Cup and work on, but it wasn’t a case of ‘you’ve been crap, I’m dropping you’,” Webster said.<\/p>\n
“I thought ‘Boydy’ was very hard done by by myself, I thought he’d done some really good things in first grade.”<\/p>\n