Brisbane fullback Te Maire Martin knows only too well miracles do happen as the Broncos try to snare an unlikely spot in the NRL finals.
In ninth position on the NRL ladder on 28 competition points, Brisbane must beat St George Illawarra in Sydney on Saturday night and hope bottom-club Wests Tigers beat in-form eight-placed Canberra on Sunday at Leichhardt Oval to play finals football.
Martin was in the Cowboys side that lost their round-26 clash 20-10 to the Broncos in 2017 and appeared destined to miss the finals.
Bookmakers were offering odds of 100-1 for the Cowboys to win the title at that point.
On the final Sunday of the regular season Canterbury sprung a 26-20 upset against St George Illawarra to catapult the Cowboys into the top eight, and ultimately on a run all the way to the grand final.
Martin remembers well how everything turned on that one result.
"I remember there were a few of us at the pub," he grinned.
"We were getting ready for our party at the end of the year and then the Bulldogs ended up beating the Dragons. We all stopped drinking and went to training on the Monday.
"(This season's finale) is sort of going along a similar line.
"It is out of our hands what happens with Wests Tigers and Canberra, but what is in our hands is the Dragons.
"We have to put in a good performance. If we get the luck of the Irish or the flip of the coin … we get it."
Martin, who will join the New Zealand Warriors next year, returned to the NRL this season after a bleed-on-the-brain injury kept him out of professional rugby league for three years.
"I've enjoyed my year so far. It exceeded my expectations," the 26-year-old said.
"All I wanted to do was play a whole season with Wynnum (in the Queensland Cup) and see if my head was all right.
"I've got (12) games at NRL level. I was hoping I might have got one or two. I am super humbled by it and super grateful because it is a proud club and to put on this jersey is special."
The Broncos have suffered heavy defeats to Parramatta (53-6) and Melbourne (60-12) in the past fortnight, but Martin was upbeat after two solid training sessions and the return of Maroons prop Pat Carrigan from a four-week suspension.
"What we need is an 80-minute performance and it starts with our defence. We get Patty back this week which helps our middle," Martin said.
"We take a lot of confidence out of getting Patty back. We were running fourth for a bit there and we need to show everyone how we got there.
"Whatever else happens is out of our hands but we are looking forward to putting in a really good performance."
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