‘No friends up there’: Martin relishing life as Public Enemy No.1 in Queensland
Jarome Luai famously declared he did not care if Queensland put a target on his back after an image of him screaming and standing over the top of a dejected Felise Kaufusi emerged after Origin I in 2021.
Three years later, Luai’s Penrith and Blues’ teammate Liam Martin feels the same after he got under the skin of the Maroons for the second time in as many games.
Martin’s powderkeg moment came when he patted Jaydn Su’A on the head and laughed in his face after the Queenslander had knocked on.
It sparked a melee, with Pat Carrigan targeting Martin before the pair were sent to the bin.
Martin told this masthead on Thursday he was expecting nothing less than a hostile reception at Suncorp Stadium in three weeks.
“I actually enjoy it [the hate],” Martin said.
Liam Martin loves the fact he is hated by Queenslanders.
“It’s part of Origin. There are probably other players they’ll focus on more than me. I’m nothing to them, I guess.
“They’ll boo. You’ve got no friends up there.
“Whenever you pull on that blue jersey, it’s always an honour, you want to do your best for your community and state and family, and I try to leave no stone unturned.
“That [incident], I didn’t know the tackle before we had been warned about [carrying on]. It was an accumulation of things. That was a mistake at my end. But it was still pretty soft.”
Paul Gallen was the most hated NSW player when he played in Brisbane, let alone a tense third game to decide an Origin series, which will be the case on July 17.
Former Blues Greg Bird and David Klemmer were also despised and booed whenever they carried the ball, or had their faces beamed onto the big screen.
Luai and Latrell Mitchell are not popular north of the border, but Martin, who was labelled a “grub” during the 2022 series, is now regarded as NSW’s chief antagonist.
Blues coach Michael Maguire said Martin would not be bothered by a hostile reaction from 50,000 Queenslanders.
“What you see is what you get with Marto, not a lot fazes him, he’s a country boy with the fluffy hair who just loves playing footy,” Maguire said on Thursday.
“Off the field, he’s a champion fella. On the field, he’s a competitor who does his job.
“He’s won three grand finals, played for his country, and the way he played on Wednesday night, it only reflected why people love playing with him.”
Martin was slugged $2100 for hitting Daly Cherry-Evans late. He was placed on report for a lifting tackle on Reuben Cotter, but cleared.
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