Liam Martin has laughed off Cameron Munster’s claims he never really liked him when they were Kangaroos teammates, insisting: “I thought we were fine, but obviously we’re not – I don’t really care.”
Storm playmaker Munster fired the first barb of grand final week on Monday when he spoke about Panthers’ firebrand Martin, the pair having clashed regularly at club and Origin level.
“It’s funny, looking back on it, we didn’t really like each other in Aussie camps,” Martin told reporters in Melbourne.
“He’s tried to get under my skin and it worked a fair few times. I have just got to go out there and not get frazzled.”
Martin told this masthead on Tuesday: “I don’t know where he’s coming from. I was surprised by that. If he feels like that, that’s alright. It doesn’t matter.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him, I enjoy the way he plays. We’re both ultra competitors. Every time he gets on the field he wants to win. I like playing against him. We’ve always had good match-ups and try to get under each other’s skin, and it will be no different on Sunday – he’ll be giving his best, I’ll be giving mine.”
Liam Martin is not bothered about Cameron Munster’s grand final week claimsCredit: Getty Images
Martin was labelled a “grub” by the Maroons last year, but has since embraced the role of aggressor, and often lets the emotion get the better of him.
Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo, who was on the 2022 Kangaroos tour with Martin and Munster, said: “They annoy each other all the time, they’re similar, both pranksters, and niggle each other on and off the field.
“‘Marto’ can be up in your face. If things are going well, and he makes a big play, you can see how excited he gets. That kind of stuff is important. Marto brings a different energy to what someone else might bring, particularly in big games. He does those little one-per-centers so well.”
Martin, 27, said he had been disappointed with his form for most of this year, but was content with what he had produced in the qualifying and preliminary finals.
“I feel like the last few weeks I’ve found my form and what I’m looking for, and hopefully I can keep it going into this game,” he said.
Martin will not change his combative ways, but one thing he will change in the coming weeks is his look. The 27-year-old has not cut his curly locks since the World Club Challenge in Manchester at the start of the year.
“But I’m getting sick of the hair,” Martin said. “My mum [Maxine] and my missus [Chelsea] don’t mind it – the missus says it looks good when I wear a hat.
“I was sick of paying $50 for haircuts. But I don’t think it looks any good. I’ll probably get it cut after the GF.”
Martin will line up on the same side of the field as Munster and former Panther, Shawn Blore.
