Martin fires Panthers to win on debut

Penrith appear to have uncovered a superstar after debutant Te Maire Martin kicked them to an upset 23-22 NRL win over competition favourites Brisbane at Pepper Stadium on Saturday night.

After being a late inclusion for his first game, the former Junior Kiwis maestro scored to level the game 11 minutes from time before kicking the winning field goal to seal a dream debut game in first grade.

The Broncos looked to be storming to victory after opening up a 22-6 lead late in the first half, however the home team piled on 17 unanswered points to score their first win of the year.

Martin will now prove difficult to displace from the No.6 position after guiding his side to an unlikely victory.

Coach Anthony Griffin will have a difficult decision to make when hooker James Segeyaro returns from a broken arm in a month.

He must decide whether to shift regular pivot Peter Wallace, who has played No.9 for the last two weeks, back into the halves or leave him out.

The Broncos had the Panthers rocked early as they raced out to a healthy lead on the back of some Anthony Milford magic.

After scoring the first try of the game after 90 seconds, Milford set up Darius Boyd 11 minutes later before stepping through the line to get his double.

The Panthers looked on the ropes but after scoring both sides of the halftime siren, they turned the game on its head.

Panthers livewire back-rower Bryce Cartwright had a mixed game, coming up with key errors but proved the architect of his side’s second half fightback.

He scored 30 seconds from halftime to lift his team and when he drifted across field late in the second half, he created room for Martin to score and level up the scores.

Jamie Soward missed the conversion as well as a penalty attempt which would have sent his side ahead however Martin iced the game three minutes from time to seal a memorable win.

Broncos centre Jack Reed was taken from the field late in the game with a head knock and appeared to suffer a concussion.

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