BY DAN

Where does Noah Martin fit into the Canberra Raiders’ first 17 in 2026?

Is he even in it? Canberra already have arguably five starting-capable forwards ahead of him in the depth chart. Maybe you play him in the middle? But there’s six other middles ahead of him. He’s only 20, though maybe there is some other measure of time for the rocks he was carved from (Mesolithic? I hardly know her). He should have plenty of time to be patient. But is that best for him? Is it best for the Raiders?

The thing is, he can’t play NSW Cup anymore. He’s too good for it. He played 19 games of Cup footy in 2025, scored 15 tries, made 19 line breaks, 6 line break assists, the best part of 4 tackle busts a game. He had 4 games with 7 or more tackle busts. These aren’t the numbers of someone who’s had all they can eat. who should be stuck in reggies.

He formed such a formidable partnership with Ethan Sanders on the left edge that anytime the young half approached the line I was salivating at the thought of a short ball to Martin. It was borderline unholy. Martin hits a hole like 110 kilograms of rage virus, the whole moving faster than the sum of the parts should. He’s too big to move like that. Too fast to tackle.

Martin has a huge future in first grade football. Best case scenario is in the back row. His size might tempt people to move him central, but he’s so agile and fast it feels a waste to use him like a battering ram. Let the wild horse run free. Let him jump fences and feel the crisp breeze in the mane masquerading as a mullet. No half would want to see him coming. None would want to test his agility.

But also, no one ahead of him in the backrow depth chart is exactly ageing. Zac Hosking is the closest thing to a veteran – he’ll be 29 come round one next season. Hudson Young is in his prime and will turn 28 next season. Simi Sasagi is 24. Matty Nicholson is just 22. What’s a pathway without a few boulders? Can recruitment be too good? (Why don’t we have too many halves?)

There’s no rush. If Ata Mariota’s development trajectory has taught us anything, it’s that proving yourself fit for first grade is one thing, showing you can be a weapon is another step. We’ve often written of leaps occurring in three parts – from the outside – in, squad to starter, and starter to star. Martin is in the process of taking the first, making himself a part of the every week 17.

The opportunities for Martin will be determined by a few factors. At the personal level, while there’s no obvious weaknesses in his game, the leap for a backrower to first grade comes defensively. Every week you’re dealing with the best athletes the game can offer, usually in space. Not only that, you’re being asked to cover defensively for young halves facing the same problem with less heft behind them. Being a ‘two-space’ defender, like Hudson Young, or Elliott Whitehead, or Zac Hosking, becomes a pre-requisite for the job.

Even if Martin is ready, that doesn’t guarantee first grade minutes. The complexities of Canberra’s depth chart at the position may be a challenge, but there’s plenty of variables. For starters, there’s obviously no guarantees. Simi Sasagi had a career year last year. Was it the start of something beautiful, or simply an outlier? Matty Nicholson’s start to his NRL career was hot, but even by his own admission he was struggling post-injury. Zac Hosking’s workload in 2025 was astronomical. It seems silly to ask similar of him in 2026, especially as he enters the second half of his prime. So Martin may find a spot through natural attrition.

But he also may be suited by an increasing tendency from the Milk to embrace flexibility in their roster. Hosking, Sasagi, and Nicholson all cover multiple position. Martin has been used in the top line as a rotation middle and a backrower. He’s obviously got the physical capacity to handle all non-hooker spots across the pack. If Canberra embrace playing fast (and loose!) with their middle rotations there could be opportunities to deploy a wall of fast-moving backrowers as middles through the middle forty of the game. It worked when Zac Hosking paired with Ata Mariota off the bench prior to Nicholson’s injury. It can work again, but harder and faster.

However it is, it’s imperative that the Raiders find Martin in first grade opportunities in 2026. This star is too bright to ignore, the power too rare to hold back. Canberra have another good one. All that’s left to work out how to use him.

All of our distribution pathways are closing down so sign up to the email below before we disappear from your feed altogether, or share this on social media. Or you can like the page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.