Liam Martin has seen a number of the game\u2019s biggest stars flown to Port Moresby on a private jet where they\u2019ve then been wooed in a bid to sign them on massive tax-free deals. <\/p>\n
But the high-flying life doesn\u2019t interest the Temora product who has parked contract negotiations for now. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be in cattle class. I\u2019ll be in economy,\u201d he joked about a potential PNG tour.<\/p>\n
Martin still has another year to run on his Penrith deal and will command huge offers when he signs his next contract in the prime of his career at 30 years of age. <\/p>\n
The star edge forward was outstanding for the Blues in this year\u2019s Origin decider and was the Clive Churchill Medal winner back in 2024.<\/p>\n
The Panthers would love to keep him, but they will struggle to match the Chiefs if they decide to break the bank to lure him north for their inaugural season in 2028. <\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s value is whatever a club wants to pay him, with reports last week that fellow back-rower Hudson Young had been offered $1.1 million to stay at the Raiders, with PNG unlikely to go that high. <\/p>\n
\u201cI try to block that out, that external noise, especially this time of year. I just try to focus on my footy and let it do the talking,\u201d he said, with Martin likely to hit the open market on November 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s something I\u2019ve probably done well over the years, blocking that external noise and those distractions and just focusing on my footy. It\u2019s just another one that I\u2019ve got to do, and when the time comes, I\u2019ll make a call.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s management recently met with the Panthers, with the parties agreeing to park negotiations until the end of the season.<\/p>\n
And while he\u2019s been able to block out the noise, it won\u2019t stop everyone else from working out just what a four-time premiership winner deserves to earn. <\/p>\n
His price will continue to soar if the Panthers win a fifth title in six years, with last year\u2019s preliminary final defeat still burning them especially after people suggested the dynasty died that day at Suncorp Stadium.<\/p>\n
The Panthers have already won the minor premiership and are red-hot favourites to beat the Roosters on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs they sort of said after that game (in Brisbane) what\u2019s dead? We still made the prelim, we were still pretty successful from where we come from, and this playing group, there\u2019s still so much more for us to do. It\u2019s still going strong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat feeling last year that we sort of let it slip away (burns). Looking back we were like \u2018so close yet so far away\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a big driving factor of this year and one that still definitely motivates us.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, we can go a couple better.\u201d<\/p>\n