Rhys Martin is a key man for Leeds Rhinos says Great Britain captain James Graham

The signing of Papua New Guinea captain Rhyse Martin has helped turn Leeds Rhinos’ fortunes around, his Great Britain rival James Graham reckons.
Rhyse MartinRhyse Martin
Rhyse Martin

Graham and Martin were clubmates at Canterbury Bulldogs, giving the Lions skipper has a high opinion of the Leeds recruit.

The two forwards will each captain their country on Saturday when Great Britain close their southern hemisphere tour with a Test against the Kumuls in Port Moresby (7.30am UK time) and Graham knows Martin will damage the Lions if they don’t keep him under control.

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Martin joined Rhinos in July and made nine appearances in their successful fight against relegation, touching down twice - including Leeds’ try of the season - and kicking 34 goals.

He scored a try and four goals when Papua New Guinea lost 22-20 to Fiji in New Zealand last weekend, Graham said: “Me and Rhyse go back a fair bit.

“I am delighted to see him, on a personal note, doing so well for Leeds.

“He has been a great signing for them and certainly part of the reason why they are back on the up.”

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Following three defeats, this weekend's Test is the final opportunity for Great Britain to salvage some pride from what has been a dismal four weeks, but Graham knows PNG will not roll over.

“It’s my first time here, as it is for the majority of the group, but not my first time playing against PNG,” he said.

“I’ve played against them a number of times, the first time was the 2008 World Cup opening game for England and that’s a game you could make a case that we should have lost.

“You learn a lot from those sort of things - you can’t afford to get caught off guard.

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“That game was in a similar sort of environment in Townsville, hot, humid, distractions - stuff like that.

“We won’t be caught out on the weekend, we’ll be prepared and we are expecting a tough, physical game.

“Their performance against Fiji last week was outstanding so we are going to have to be at our best.

“We’re going to have to do the little things well that we’ve done well so far and improve on that if we want to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game.”

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PNG believe they can cause an upset, but Martin admitted they have to be better with the ball than they were against Fiji.

“They [GB] are quite a big team, big bodies and quite physical, so I think ball possession is going to be absolute key,” he warned.

“If it’s going to be hot and humid, tough conditions, so whoever can compete and put their team in good positions on the field will definitely go a long way to winning the game.

“Last week we were inconsistent in a lot of areas and what saved us was our energy and being willing to turn up for one another.

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“Sometimes you can’t rely on that so we definitely have to be better with controlling the ball and finishing our sets well.

“Defensively if you go back to back you will blow out in the heat here.”

It will be the first time Martin has captained his country in PNG and he wants to make home advantage count.

He said: “It has been a good week, to get back here and get ready for this game.

“We know how much energy the crowd bring to each game we play here - to run out in front of our fans and our country again, on our soil, is very exciting.”