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Martin missed the first two games of this year\u2019s series due to a knee injury, but he\u2019s back on his familiar right side of the field where the plan is for him to target old foe Cameron Munster for as long as his lungs will let him.<\/p>\n
The Panthers star will team up with Young in the back row with the series on the line, with fellow forward Payne Haas describing Martin as a \u201cwild man\u201d as he prepares to play his 16th game for his state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching it (game two) was very frustrating. I would have loved to have been out there and I thought I\u2019ll do whatever I can to get to this game three,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably didn\u2019t think I\u2019d played well enough (for Penrith) but I\u2019m glad they put their trust in me. I\u2019m going to get up there and get the job done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just would have loved to have been there, be in the contest, the physicality. I was missing it a bit, so I\u2019m glad I\u2019m there for game three and can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam Martin and Hudson Young after winning game 1 of the 2025 State of Origin series between Queensland and NSW at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Pics Adam HeadSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Young had Haumole Olakau\u2019atu on the right edge in the series opener before Dylan Lucas was brought in to make his debut at the MCG, with Queensland going after that side as they cruised to a huge win to force a decider.<\/p>\n
But they won\u2019t have as much time with Martin back and on a mission to mess up the Maroons, with Olakau\u2019atu likely to come on at some stage when the tank is empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to pair up with \u2018Marto\u2019 in the back row,\u201d Young said, with the Raiders star tasked with shutting down game two hero Sam Walker. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a world-class player and just really happy for him to be back in this environment. He\u2019s built for Origin and he\u2019s an animal, so I\u2019m excited to be back in here with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he just brings a presence. He\u2019s won four competitions for a reason and he\u2019s played at the highest level for many years now and he knows what it takes to win. He just does all the stuff you value as a teammate and to get him back in here fit and firing is exciting for us all.\u201d<\/p>\n
People north of the border can\u2019t stand Martin when he\u2019s ripping in for the Blues, but he doesn\u2019t agree with one word they use to describe him.<\/p>\n
Strange fit to return for Origin decider | 02:17<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m not much of a grub, but I do enjoy the physical side and the aggression,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like that\u2019s how the game\u2019s meant to be played, especially Origin. I really embrace it and look forward to it whenever I get the opportunity to put on the blue, to rip in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure Hudson and I have a similar mindset, and that\u2019s why I love playing with him. So keen to get out there again, and I know we\u2019ll get the job done for the team, me and him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blues have been written off heading into game three at Suncorp Stadium where they pulled off a stunning victory two years ago, and Young says something similar is brewing in this squad. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very connected as a team. Everyone\u2019s close mates and that\u2019s important as a team before you play. The camaraderie here in the team is as good as I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Martin Gabor (NCA NewsWire)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cBash Brothers\u201d Fulton Reed and Dean Portman terrorised their rivals on the ice in D2: The Mighty Ducks,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-783639","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\/783639","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=783639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}