Steve Martin

Dynamic halfback with a background as an Australian Rules player in Wagga first came under notice when he represented Riverina in the 1976 Amco Cup competition. Martin, who played for Barrow in English club football in 1975-76, came to Manly in 1978 in what was a phenomenal debut season. Rushed into the NSW side as five-eighth after only a handful of first grade games, he played in both the drawn grand final and the grand final replay win over Cronulla before touring with the Kangaroos. NSWRL 'Rookie of the Year', he appeared in 11 matches on tour and made his sole Test appearance as a centre against France in the First Test at Carcassonne. Martin was a reserve for NSW in the first State of Origin match in 1980 and his versatility in the backline saw him tour NZ with the Australian team that year (5 games, no Tests). He underwent several positional changes at Manly (centre, five-eighth, halfback and lock) but went to Balmain in 1982 to cement a first grade place as halfback. Despite glimpses of the old magic, Martin's two seasons with the Tigers were plagued by a series of shoulder injuries and he went to England to play for Leeds in 1983-84. When his Sydney career was over he captain-coached West Tamworth to two premierships in 1986-87 but retired as a player following two shoulder dislocations. As coach of Norths he won a reserve grade premiership in 1989 before taking the club to the 1991 final – Norths’ best effort in 26 years. Unfortunately Martin's winning formula became staid and predictable and he resigned the following year after a disappointing season and took on the role of coach of Featherstone Rovers in England. He returned to Australia as coach of Souths in 1998 but clashed with players and management over his disciplining of Julian O’Neill and was sacked by the Rabbitohs midway through the year.