Clubs fight over the next Benji

T

Tuiaki_Chicken_Wings

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http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/clubs-fight-benji/

AN unknown 19-year-old electrical apprentice has suddenly become the hottest property in rugby league following the Daly Cherry-Evans backflip.

An incredible eight clubs are chasing rookie Tigers Holden Cup playmaker Te Maire Martin, including the desperate Titans.

Good judges are comparing Martin to a young Benji Marshall: both are Kiwis, both attended Keebra Park High School on the Gold Coast and both possess lightning footwork.

Former Test halfback Brett Kimmorley can understand the fuss.

“He’s outstanding — the best playmaker in the NYC or NSW Cup,” says Kimmorley, Martin’s Under-20s coach.

“I would love him to stay at the Tigers but realistically, it will be hard for him behind Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses. Clubs are queuing up to get him and with quality playmakers in short supply, it’s easy to see why.”

A Junior Kiwi, Martin kicked the winning field goal when the New Zealanders scored an upset win against their Kangaroo counterparts last year.

He was named in the Holden Cup Team of the Year last season and has carried on that hot form in 2015.

Off-contract, the Turangawaewae junior is fielding offers from clubs on a daily basis.

“He has superb vision and decision making skills for a kid his age,” Kimmorley says.

“He can tackle, which as we know some halfbacks can’t, and he has good leg speed and a fine kicking game. But most of all he is very coachable and takes in everything you tell him. He’s a good kid.”

The Titans will go in heavily for Martin after missing out on DCE but Kimmorley cautions them against thinking he will be the saviour . . . immediately.

“He will be a very good NRL player for a lot of years,” he says. “But I wouldn’t rush him straight into the top grade next year as a starting halfback and expect 20-odd games out of him. He should be nursed in gradually.”

Grrrrrreeeeeaaaaaattt
 
Kimmorly is obviously on commission! There goes any chance we had of keeping him.

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Moley tweeted a response to this saying that one of the six clubs that aren't in the race is the Tigers… Not sure if that means the offer they gave him sucks or that we are just letting him go. If that is the case, poor form by management.
 
From what I have seen so far, Moses is going to make it, I think Brooks will a good player at times, not a great player, I don't think he has the mindset for the week in, week out performance level required of NRL. I would be keeping Martin over Brooks, but then we can't keep them all. Martin has to do what is best for him.
 
Moses and Brooks are one year out from NYC eligibility and they'd still be in lower grades at most other clubs. Both have shown enough at times to suggest they are very good young halves.

It's not poor form by management. We can't afford to pay him what other clubs will. This is the salary cap in action. To be quite frank I think it's our desire to retain our juniors that keeps shooting us in the foot because we end up with plodders on good contracts because they're juniors. The Dragons let Jackson Hastings go. Clubs lose juniors all the time. Melbourne poaching Lodge from Penrith is another example. It's letting go of the good not great young players that is how to win the salary cap game and unfortunately by re-signing a ton of these we won't be able to give Te Maire what he's worth imo.

If we stand in the way of other clubs and match offers on our juniors every time we'll never have enough in the cap to recruit more senior players, which is what we need.
 
Is this the player an employed coach on our payroll endorsed another club stealing? I love how professional we are.
 
We need to keep him until we know whether Brooks and Moses will kick on.

For me that's 2-3 years.

We should sign him up with this in mind and actually help him try and achieve his goal to be the No.1 halfback at the club.

That way, if Brooks or Moses kick on, let Martin take offers elsewhere. If Martin kicks on, Brooks or Moses can leave.

I think Moses is going to be a star. Martin is built skinny at the moment, so it's hard to tell how he'll handle the big league.
 
@weststigers said:
We need to keep him until we know whether Brooks and Moses will kick on.

For me that's 2-3 years.

We should sign him up with this in mind and actually help him try and achieve his goal to be the No.1 halfback at the club.

That way, if Brooks or Moses kick on, let Martin take offers elsewhere. If Martin kicks on, Brooks or Moses can leave.

I think Moses is going to be a star. Martin is built skinny at the moment, so it's hard to tell how he'll handle the big league.
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x2

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I think all three of them are going to be special players and we've already got Brooks and Moses signed to long term deals.

How many clubs have three first grade quality PURE halves on the books? Bulldogs? Cowboys? Notice how the Dogs are gonna lose Hodkinson and the Cowboys won't be re-signing Lui. Mbye and Morgan are also pretty capable in other positions too. You just can't halve three halves because other clubs need them.

Some clubs have guys you can throw in the halves at a pinch but Moses, Te Maire and Brooks are halves alone and sadly we've already got our ducks in a row for the next 2 and a half seasons.
 
This might be shot down. But is there a way to keep all three and play in the same team?
Teddy perhaps to centre? Moses back to FB where he played pretty decent last year? That could fit Te Maire into the halves
1\. Moses
3\. Teddy
6\. Martin
7\. Brooks
 
@weststigers said:
We need to keep him until we know whether Brooks and Moses will kick on.

For me that's 2-3 years.

We should sign him up with this in mind and actually help him try and achieve his goal to be the No.1 halfback at the club.

That way, if Brooks or Moses kick on, let Martin take offers elsewhere. If Martin kicks on, Brooks or Moses can leave.

I think Moses is going to be a star. Martin is built skinny at the moment, so it's hard to tell how he'll handle the big league.
Click to expand...

Keep him for 2-3 years… a kid who will look for opportunity and a better pay packet than we could offer him as a backup for a few years, good in theory but not really realistic.

If a good offer comes there is little we can do about it
 
Was always going to happen… Many clubs rarely have this problem as developing/grooming halves in back to back years.

Realistically, Martin wont be interested in accepting an offer well below some of the offers he can get from other clubs.

Non of this is the WT fault.

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Has anyone thought that Martin may not want to stay a Tiger given we are committed to Brooks and Moses?.. If I were Martin I'd be outta here quick smart….

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You can't have the 3 of the 5 best young halves in the game at the same club. We have already tied up the 2 best for us in Brooks and Moses so the money you would spend on a 3rd half is wasted and could be spent elsewhere.

Tigers are making a smart decision not to compete for the money he would be offered and for those who have asked no its not a good idea to move any of them position wise
 
The only thing I can see in our favour is that his mates (Liolevave Heleta) are on our books for the next 2 years….Unfortunately Money may will be the bigger factor...Development Clubs like ours will always suffer compared to cashed up Clubs who can cherry pick when it suits....the NRL needs to do something about it but wont...

P.S. Kimmorley can take a short walk of a long pier..was excited when he came on board but he has done nothing for the NYC team full of potential...
 
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