Why NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler blasted Liam Martin as an ‘idiot’ during fiery phone call
Why NSW coach Brad Fittler labeled Blues star Liam Martin an ‘idiot’ during a fiery phone call just before he was named to the must-win team for Origin game two
- Martin called for game at Suncorp Stadium
- Was one of the Blues best losses in game one
- Fittler was furious about incident vs Roosters
Liam Martin has his Penrith teammate Spencer Leniu to thank for the telephone grilling he received from NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler.
Martin went down with a category one headbutt in Penrith’s victory over the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night, which looked to jeopardize his drafting chances in the second Origin match he was due to win on June 21.
The 26-year-old flew out of line to tackle Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and led with his head, which collided with the Roosters’ enforcer’s hip. Martin immediately fell to the turf and played no further part in the game.
Martin was cleared of all concussion symptoms in the following days and while he was unable to participate in contact training until the day before the game, he is doing well to line up at Suncorp Stadium.
Martin suffered a concussion when his tackle on Roosters hard man Jared Waerea-Hargreaves went horribly wrong on Saturday night
The Penrith star was seen wearing headgear at NSW training on Wednesday where he was kept out of contact with drills due to his headbutt
But the ill-timed tackle and subsequent concussion were enough to provoke a grumpy call from Fittler.
“He called me Monday or Sunday and he just said, ‘You’re an idiot,'” Martin said.
“He gave me a spray and I said, ‘Yeah, I know.’
“Looking back, it was just terrible technique.”
Martin was just as energetic in the Origin series opener last month, where he started from the bench and was the best striker in a losing effort for the Blues.
Martin explained that the physicality of his recent performances came after coach Ivan Cleary challenged him to emulate Leniu while the Penrith prop was injured earlier in the season.
Cleary deploys the fiery Leniu from the bench to help the Panthers beat their tired rivals, so when he went down with a testicular injury last month, the Panthers needed a replacement.
The 26-year-old admitted he suffered a bit of red fog as he fired off line and attempted to fold Waerea-Hargreaves in half
Blues coach Brad Fittler didn’t hold back when he called Martin just before the NSW team was selected
“(Cleary) said, ‘Now that ‘Spenny’ is injured, I want you to play the role of ‘Spenny,’ just try to do what he does,” Martin explained.
“It’s great to see when he comes in and just changes the whole momentum.”
Martin revealed that copying Leniu was the secret to his success in the Origin series opener, but admits he can’t push the envelope too far as he could end up with more headbutts.
“I was trying to imitate Spenny’s game,” Martin said.
“I just need to be smarter.
“Obviously I have that aggression, but I need to master the technique.
“It’s about finding that balance between a little bit of red and a little bit of blue.”
Fittler was convinced Martin had learned his lesson as he prepared to watch contact training from a distance this week.
“I saw how he did it (the headbutt), it was stupid. The less contact he makes, the better, I’d say,” Fittler said.
“What he did was pretty stupid, he’s aware of that.”