NZ Warriors hand keys to Tanah Boyd, as Te Maire Martin proves too valuable on bench
Photo:
Tertius Pickard/www.photosport.nz
Warriors v Tigers
Kickoff 4pm Sunday, 13 July
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Te Maire Martin's newfound versatility appears to have cost him a starting spot in the NZ Warriors halves against Wests Tigers on Sunday.
Handily placed at fourth on the NRL table, the Auckland club suffered a potentially crippling blow when star halfback Luke Metcalf
ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee
against Brisbane Broncos two weeks ago.
He will now sit out the remainder of the 2025 campaign.
Coach Andrew Webster has
turned to newcomer Tanah Boyd as Metcalf's replacement
, as they [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/565443/nrl-nz-warriors-licking-wounds-after-season-altering-defeat-to-brisbane-broncos
emerge from two losses and a bye week] to take on a dangerously unpredictable Tigers outfit at Go Media Stadium.
Boyd, 24, has previously logged 69 appearances for Gold Coast Titans and has been a driving force in a Warriors reserves team riding an 11-game winning streak in NSW Cup competition. He's waited patiently for his club debut.
"We're really disappointed for Luke, but excited about the next chapter," Webster said. "I think [Boyd] has just got himself so NRL ready.
"We're really confident in his ability and he's just got to be himself - he plays a different style to Luke - and we know, if he does that, we'll be in good shape."
Martin, 29, was the other obvious candidate for the role and started there for North Queensland Cowboys in the , but has instead been
retained as a utility off the interchange bench
, where he has started his nine games for the Warriors season.
His value was perfectly shown against the Broncos, when he entered the game as an concussion-check replacement for Wayde Egan at hooker, switched to fullback at half-time and then stepped into Metcalf's spot late in the contest.
"If you've got the keys to the car and then lose your fullback halfway through the game, you don't want Te Maire to go to [fullback]," Webster explained. "You need the guy at No.7 to stay there.
"That's what we want Tanah to do and he deserves it, because he's played well. I don't think many teams have a guy like Te Maire, who can play [fullback], centre, hooker, lock and half, and do such a great job."
Martin is in the final year of his Warriors contract, but far from being discouraged at his current role, he seems refreshed by the opportunity to develop new skills.
"It's actually pretty fun, learning new roles - keeps it exciting," he told media last month. "It's probably the most fun I've had.
"Even though I'm playing my least minutes, I'm learning a lot and enjoying the company around me."
Before voting went behind closed doors, Metcalf
led the Dally M Medal standings
for the competition's Most Valuable Player and was also the Warriors' leading tryscorer for the season with eight.
Boyd offers a very different proposition.
"Every halfback has to have the keys, but he drives the car different," Webster said. "That was pretty corny, wasn't it, but that's just the way it is.
"He's completely different - they both pass well and kick well, but Tanah can kick the cover off the ball and he's an organiser.
"Luke Metcalf is one of the fastest halves in the game - Tanah's not slow, but he's not express. He's very much an organiser and likes to touch the ball all the time."
Tanah Boyd kicks a winning field goal against the Warriors in 2022.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Boyd has often played his best against the Warriors. In 2022, he kicked a Golden Point field goal, as the Titans prevailed 27-26 at Mt Smart, setting the seal on the Warriors' worst-ever season.
"I remember, we played them here on Anzac Day last year and he kicked us to death," Webster recalled. "The Titans beat us here at home [27-24] and he was exceptional that day."
When Des Hasler took over the coaching reins at Gold Coast, Boyd crossed the Tasman to join the Warriors on a one-year contract, but took up his player option for next season without playing a single minute in first grade.
"He's a competitor," Webster observed. "He talks and talks and talks and talks… he'll yap your ears off.
"He's a team guy and hasn't played one game for us, but has probably been one of the best culturally this year."
Sadly, Metcalf's latest mishap continues a run of injury in his three years at Warriors, after hamstring niggles delayed his 2023 debut until the 12th round, then curtailed his season before the team's playoff run. He missed most of 2024 with a broken leg.
"Once he got over the disappointment, in his own words, he's very motivated to have the operation, get back and get ready for next season," Webster said. "Unfortunately, he's had a lot of experience at this, so he's very resilient and tough.
"We're really confident he'll get back to his best, but at this moment, I think he needs to take some time and, when he comes back to the group, you'll see a real team guy. He'll make our group better, once he's had a little break."
The Warriors were already reeling from the loss of co-captain Mitch Barnett, who
suffered a very similar injury
, trying to back up from the State of Origin opener in June.
Warriors:
1 Taine Tuaupiki, 2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3 Adam Pompey, 4 Rocco Berry, 5 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6 Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7 Tanah Boyd, 8 James Fisher-Harris (c), 9 Wayde Egan, 10 Jackson Ford, 11 Leka Halasima, 12 Marata Niukore, 13 Erin Clark
Interchange: 14 Te Maire Martin, 15 Jacob Laban, 16 Demitric Vaimauga, 17 Tanner Stowers-Smith
Reserves: 18 Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, 20 Sam Healey, 21 Bunty Afoa, 22 Edward Kosi, 23 Kurt Capewell
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