Feels like the first time \u2026 all over again.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the emotion sweeping through Liam Martin on his return to the NSW Origin team for next Wednesday’s decider at Suncorp Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The back-rower played 15 consecutive Origin matches from his debut in Game One 2021 to Game Three last year but after injury brought that sequence to a halt, he had all but resigned himself to missing out on that beloved Blues jersey in 2026.<\/p>\n
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Liam Martin Try<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got the call last night (Sunday) it was like the first time again,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart was racing, I had the jitters, because coming into a decider is also so exciting.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I missed the first two games and you\u2019ve got boys like Haumole (Olakau\u2019atu) and Hudson (Young) who are killing it at the moment with their unbelievable form.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sort of thought I might not make it. I knew if I got the opportunity I\u2019d be ready to rip in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin says he feels ready to burst with the amount of physical energy he\u2019s feeling now.<\/p>\n
He has only played eight NRL games this year, missing six weeks with a knee injury before returning in Round 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy body is feeling good. I\u2019m ready to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI obviously had the knee injury earlier but it\u2019s come good and there\u2019s no dramas there whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The injury forced Martin to watch the opening two games of the series from the living room, with the second match in particular an excruciating watch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NSW stormed home to claim the opener in historic fashion at Accor Stadium before they let a half-time lead slip to fall 44-24 in front of a record crowd at the MCG.<\/p>\n
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Blues v Maroons – Game II, 2026<\/p>\n
Having sat through the two matches from the couch, it’s an experience he doesn’t want to endure again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth games I was at home on my own as I didn\u2019t really want to watch it with anyone else,\u201d Martin s\/aid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pacing the lounge room for 99 per cent of each match.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a few expletives at the television as I\u2019m very passionate about this jersey, so to sit and watch it as a fan was a very different feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another point of difference is not having his Penrith teammate Brian To\u2019o with him in camp.<\/p>\n
The pair made their Origin debuts together in Game One of the 2021 campaign, winning that match 50-6 in Townsville and then claiming the series in Game Two at Suncorp Stadium.<\/p>\n
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Maroons v Blues<\/p>\n
\u201cBizza reached out last night, when he found out I was in the team but he wasn\u2019t,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wished me all the best and that\u2019s what he\u2019s like.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him it wouldn\u2019t be the same without him as I\u2019ve been through so much of my career with him always there \u2013 Origins, grand finals, injuries. He\u2019s one of my best mates.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Blues have historically struggled north of the border, Suncorp Stadium holds no demons for Martin. He has won three of his five Origins there including the 2024 decider.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a totally different energy,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople feel like they\u2019re right on top of you so they don\u2019t call it \u2018The Cauldron\u2019 for nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got no friends there apart from your teammates on the field with you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just so much noise. Sometimes it gets so loud you\u2019ve got to scream at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
It all comes down to the decider when Queensland host NSW in Game Three of the State of Origin series on Wednesday July 8 at Suncorp Stadium. Don’t miss a moment on Channel 9, 9Now and Watch NRL.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feels like the first time \u2026 all over again. That\u2019s the emotion sweeping through Liam Martin on his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":768222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-768221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}