Liam Martin played with painkillers every week from round four to cope with the pain from a debilitating shoulder injury– then revealed he had barely trained in the countdown to the NRL grand final after popping rib cartilage during a wrestle session.
Only Penrith’s inner sanctum were aware of the real pain the 27-year-old had endured over the past few weeks, with Martin – who has been battling an AC joint injury since March – needing more painkilling injections to train and play with the injured rib.
Despite the injuries, the Penrith backrower scored a try, set up another and was hugely influential in attack and defence against Melbourne on Sunday night in a performance that saw him became the first forward since Cronulla’s Luke Lewis eight years ago to win the Clive Churchill Medal.
“I did the ribs leading up to the Roosters’ [qualifying final] – I did it during a wrestle session believe it or not,” Martin told this masthead.
“[Teammate] Paul Alamoti popped it. I struggled to train that week, and got it needled up. I doubled up last week [against the Sharks] because it did nothing. I thought, ‘This is doing shit’, so they put more in. It was tender tonight. But as the night went on, it felt alright. I couldn’t do anything during the week at training.
Pain and pleasure: Liam Martin with his Clive Churchill MedalCredit: Getty Images
“The AC has scarred over, but I’ve had that needled each week since I did it back in round four against the Roosters. I got pinned in a tackle and landed awkwardly. I was able to get it needled that night and finished the game.”
TV viewers could see the shoulder pad on top of Martin’s shoulder shift out of place during the grand final but Martin said although it was painful, he would not need to go under the knife.
“For some reason the needle wore off on Sunday night [in the AC joint]. It doesn’t need surgery, it just looks bad,” he said.
Penrith physio Pete Green said rib cartilage injuries were among the most painful in the game, but added that Martin was in the same category as Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards and former hooker Api Koroisau when it came to coping with discomfort.
Martin has emerged as one of the form edge forwards in the NRL, despite being unhappy with his performances for most of this season.
“I was inconsistent and certainly felt like I had more to give.” he said. “I was happy with the finals series – I could finally hit a bit of form and do what I needed to do for this team. This is a pretty surreal feeling.”
Four-time title winner Liam MartinCredit: Getty Images
Martin was in the headlines before the Storm clash after Melbourne playmaker Cameron Munster revealed the pair “did not really like each other” when playing for Australia. They later posed for a photo for this masthead, and Munster revealed how his mother, Debbie, had ordered her son to kiss and make-up with Martin after hearing the news.
There was no run-in with the pair at Accor Stadium, but Martin did spray centre Jack Howarth after he scored before half-time.
“That was just heat of the moment – I thought I’d give him some on the way back,” Martin said with a smile.
In other news, Nathan Cleary, who did not require a pain-killing injection to his right shoulder before kick-off, is due to undergo surgery, with the recovery time a minimum three months. Cleary said the issue was instability rather than pain, and “it only hurts when it gets into awkward positions”.
“The only way I could [return] was to work as hard as I could around the clock so I could be here,” he said.
“I said to Mum that I’ve got to play three games, and that’d be it. I’m not going to go into full details [of what I’ve been through], but it’s been a frustrating year.”
Winger Brian To’o failed to finish the game with a knee issue and was hobbling long after full-time but while there were initial fears he had suffered damage to his MCL, Green said it was nothing more than “knee on knee” contact.
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