Pig hunting, surfing, fishing and playing footy with his brothers; that's what the last two years looked like for Te Maire Martin after calling time on his NRL career in 2020.
But in a time of his life where he lost everything he trained for, Martin has turned that heartache into one spectacular comeback, recovering from his brain injury to earn a spot not just in the NRL, but also the Kiwis.
Martin told 1News he still couldn’t believe he was returning to the international stage.
“I'm back and I'm happy,” he said.
“To be in the squad is pretty crazy - from seven or eight NRL games in the last two and a half years off, it's been pretty cool man.”
Martin was forced to retire in early 2020 after a small bleed on his brain was discovered in 2019 and despite a successful surgery, was unable to get clearance for contact training.
The experience grounded him in more ways than one.
“I know how fast stuff can get taken away from me so I just take it all in.”
But instead of looking at it as the lowest point in his life, Martin found other joys.
It ended up being two of my better years I've had,” he said.
But now he’s hunting try lines instead of pigs after resurrecting his career with the Broncos this season, leading to a fateful call from Kiwis coach Michael Maguire for Saturday's Test against Tonga.
“When I got the phone call, I was sitting there, I was wondering what he was calling me for,” Martin recalled.
Maguire said it was simply a great story.
“It goes to show if you persist and you got a dream you can achieve something if you really want it,” the coach said.
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