Liam Martin was involved in all the action during Australia’s 16-14 win over New Zealand — including the most fiery moments.
Although he didn’t start the push and shove at the start of the second half, he ended up right in the middle of it after running in to defend his teammates.
Afterwards he put a target on the back of New Zealand star James Fisher-Harris, who he has won two premierships with at the Panthers.
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“I love playing against Fish, I looked up to him a fair bit at Panthers,” Martin said in the post-game press conference.
“Coming up against him I knew it was going to be a real test so I just wanted to take it to him and he enjoyed that as well, so it was good out there.”
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The two looked to exchange words, but Martin didn’t give away much when asked what was said.
“Nothing too serious, we were mostly laughing more than anything,” he told reporters.
“Obviously I’ve got my teammates’ back but I won’t take it too far and I couldn’t fight to save myself so I won’t be doing anything too serious.”
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Martin was named player of the match after producing 75 running metres, a linebreak, an offload, a tackle bust and 35 tackles with four misses.
What the stats don’t show are the effort areas and his undying passion for the Australian jersey.
The 25-year-old struggled to give himself a rap, saying he was “pretty happy” with his performance and he just “tried to do my job for the team and I feel like I did that.”
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Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga interjected with: “He did it very well.
“He’s terrific footy over here, that’s why he’s in the Test team. He does make a difference, he makes great contributions to our team,” Meninga added.
“He’s obviously humble with things but that’s what he provides. I’m really happy with his performance, not only tonight but through the whole tournament.”
