NRL spine stars Wayde Egan and Te Maire Martin are the injury-hit Warriors’ point of difference
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
What: NRL round 17, Warriors v Dolphins. Where: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. When: 5pm Saturday, Sky Sport 1.
The Warriors’ growing casualty list is being offset by the red-hot form of key spine players Wayde Egan and Te Maire Martin.
Coach Andrew Webster will be without Jackson Ford with a pectoral tear for 10 to 12 weeks starting from Saturday’s visit to Brisbane to meet the Dolphins.
Ford may not be back until the finals series as he joins captain James Fisher-Harris and Leka Halasima on the sidelines with backs Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Tanah Boyd out for the entire NRL season.
Kurt Capewell, however, returns to the second row at Suncorp Stadium after a spell after State of Origin 2.
Egan and Martin - Boyd’s replacement at scrumhalf - have softened the blow for Webster with their recent standout performances.
The head coach is appreciative of their growing influence as the Warriors look to consolidate second place before a bye ahead of Origin 3.
Egan must be a contender for a late call-up to the New South Wales side for that series decider as there are few better No 9s in the NRL this year.
The 29-year-old Australian is now in his prime and has eight try assists in 14 games this season - the second-most by a NRL hooker. He has also hd nine line break assists and made eight offloads and has competed 430 tackles at 93.7%.
Egan - in his seventh season with the Warriors and thus qualified to represent the Kiwis - is averaging 47 running metres per game. But he excelled himself in last Sunday’s 38-20 victory over the Cowboys in Christchurch with a season-high 126m - 97m in the first half.
He bagged two try assists and Webster noted later he could have had another when he made a line break but had a pass intercepted by Scott Drinkwater with the Cowboys’ line beckoning.
“If he had got that pass off he would have had a hand in so many plays,’’ said Webster, who praised Egan’s “unbelievable’’ long ball for one of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad’s four tries on the left edge.
“Any time their markers weren’t right, he made them accountable; I thought he made them pay.”
He described Egan as a point of difference who had stepped up as a leader “with his words and actions” with Capewell and Barnett away on State of Origin duty and Fisher-Harris hurt.
This time last year Martin’s NRL future was up in the air in the final year of a three-season Warriors contract.
He started 2025 in NSW Cup but got a first grade lifeline as the Warriors’ No 14 after a season-ending injury to scrumhalf Luke Metcalf and a consequent promotion for Boyd.
Martin showed enough in a range of backline roles, and as a fill-in dummy half, to earn another year at Mt Smart Stadium.
But he had to bide his time again this year after a broken leg in pre-season delayed his season debut until round 11.
Boyd’s ACL surgery has given Martin a new lease of life at No 7, a role he had rarely played until deputising there for Shaun Johnson in 2024.
The 30-year-old has made every post a winner this term with four tries and six try assists in five games.
Martin has still played just 13 games at halfback in a 116-game NRL career dating back to 2016, but he now looks at home in the role.
He was so impressive against the Cowboys with two try assists, three line break assists, 95m from 14 runs and some classy passing that one news website awarded him a 10 out of 10 rating.
If he can keep his form up Martin must have every chance of extending his six-test Kiwis career at the 2026 World Cup as Jahrome Hughes’ halfback back-up.
Stacey Jones, the Warriors assistant-coach and former champion scrumhalf, hailed Martin’s contributions before the Christchurch game.
“He adds something different [at No 7],” Jones told The Post. “He’s an off-the-cuff type of player, he creates something out of nothing.'
Jones said Boyd gave the Warriors a nice, structured game with pinpoint kicking. Without him, the kicking load had had to be shared with Chanel Harris-Tavita taking the pressure off Martin on the last-play options.
Teams
Warriors: Taine Tuaupiki, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Ali Leiataua, Adam Pompey, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Te Maire Martin, Tanner Stowers-Smith, Wayde Egan, Mitchell Barnett (c), Jacob Laban, Kurt Capewell, Erin Clark. Interchange: Sam Healey, Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Demitric Vaimauga, Marata Niukore, Kayliss Fatialofa, Luke Metcalf.
Dolphins: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Jamayne Isaako, Jack Bostock, Herbie Farnworth, Selwyn Cobbo, Kodi Nikorima, Isaiya Katoa (c), Thomas Flegler, Jeremy Marshall-King, Francis Molo, Connelly Lemuelu, Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Morgan Knowles. Interchange: Max Plath, Kurt Donoghoe, Ray Stone, Felise Kaufusi, Bradley Schneider, Trai Fuller.