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Dustin Martin
- Thread starter Rosy
- Start date
best of the last 20 years because at his peak he could. not. be. tackled.
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Love all those comments but I reckon my favourite and the one that sums up Dusty the best is by none other than K. Sheedy!!
Where did you get this from Brian?Never has a prophecy, in terms of footy, been so fulfilled.
“I reckon I was born to play AFL,” Dustin Martin said.
He was 17 then. He was shy and carefully spoken, which has never left him, and clearly had a lashing of youthful haughtiness.
To look at him then, he had a softish face and body, far removed from the chiselled rig of 15 seasons in the big league, and he was taller than what you thought a teenage onballer would be. They all are.
Yet, it was the self-confidence that triggers the memory. And the fact this kid, on this day, harboured boyish hopes and dreams that, over time, would materialise into the phenomenon called “Dusty”.
Born to play AFL? Nah, it would be much bigger than that.
We spoke two weeks ahead of the 2009 national draft, which was a day, unbeknown to everyone, that would transform Richmond from a bedraggled football club to a dynastic powerhouse.
The kid from Castlemaine – Dustin Martin.
Martin arrived for his only pre-draft interview – in the lounge of Bendigo’s Reservoir Hotel – in the car of Bendigo Pioneers under-18s coach Mark Ellis.
Ellis said Martin was nervous.
“Like any young bloke that has got an ability to play footy, he was nervous about the draft,’’ Ellis said this week. “In some ways, he was no different than what he is now. He was very shy, but felt very comfortable playing footy. He went to the interview not knowing what to expect. At the time, he was very reluctant to talk. It was just a whirlwind for him.’’
Martin hadn’t sat for a media interview previously – and to be honest, not that many since – and was probably wary of what he was to be asked.
Like, why did he leave school when was 15? Only weeks before, Port Adelaide had probed him about exactly that at its pre-draft interview.
“I think I was talking to Port Adelaide and they asked me about when I left school and stuff like that,” Martin said at the time. “Sometimes I’m a little bit embarrassed to say I left that early, but, yeah, Port Adelaide asked me if I was dumb and I said no.”
They said dumb?
“Yeah.”
Harsh?
“I don’t mind.”
Reading that interview again, it was cringe from Port Adelaide.
“I had heard that about Port Adelaide,’’ Ellis said. “But I didn’t talk to him about his draft interview because it was pretty evident he was going to go, it was just a matter of where. I knew Richmond used to come and watch him train (at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo) and sit on the other side of the ground. They were doing their due diligence.’’
And dominating for Castlemaine in 2008.
If Martin thought others thought he was uneducated because he didn’t progress past Year 10, Ellis never detected it.
“There was definitely a street-smartness about him, in a good way,’’ Ellis said. “He was very comfortable around people he knew. He was just very comfortable in a footy environment and playing footy. His expression on the ground was a bit different to him off the ground. He always had this unwavering confidence he could play.’’
Ellis coached Martin for half of a season in his bottom-age year at the Pioneers and for all of his top-age year.
In the first year, 2008, Martin played seniors at Castlemaine and also at the Pioneers.
“I can remember Ray Byrne, the regional talent manager, told me to go and have a look at Dustin play,’’ Ellis said. “I can’t remember who they were playing, but it was Castlemaine playing at the Camp Reserve. I will remember this forever. I remember where I was standing. I rang Ray back at halftime and I said, ‘I’m coming home, I’ve seen enough’. I reckon Dusty kicked four or five (goals) to halftime as a 16-year-old. I tell you, I was standing on the wing at the Camp Reserve, the far wing, and I walked away thinking, ‘Gee, this boy could play’.’’
Byrne, a 219-game player at Carlton, Collingwood and Geelong, and who also hailed from Bendigo, also recalled Martin playing for Castlemaine.
“I remember down at Gisborne, a dirty, stinky, wet day at Gisborne,’’ Byrne told Breakfast With Harf on RSN. “He was only 16, he absolutely dominated. He played like a seasoned player.’’
Martin flourished in the Pioneers’ program. Ellis played him in the midfield – “and wherever he wanted to play’’ he quipped – and said Martin loved the environment – the people, the change rooms, the training.
“He wasn’t hard to coach, he just loved playing footy,’’ Ellis said. “We used to always try to allow players to play on instinct because that’s what’s going to get them drafted.
“When they get to a club they sometimes get changed, but he didn’t. He’d get to training, be one of the first out on the track, and he’d be kicking all different kicks. He’d be kicking different kicks before they became in fashion.’’
Martin with his dad and mum after his name was called out in the 2009 national draft. Picture: Michael Dodge
Martin’s burgeoning trademark fend-off was victimised in the under-18 competition.
“He was doing the fend-offs and don’t argues and the umpires were penalising him,’’ Ellis said. “People came to me and said, ‘You’ve got to stop him from doing this’. (Umpires) were getting him for high contact or pushing (because) I don’t think they had seen it before.
“But there was no way known I was taking that out of him. He got a bit frustrated by it, but our theory at the time was to keep playing like you’re playing, mate.
“The thing is, he played on instinct. There’s no way that you could take that out of him.
“He had this knack of being able to play really good footy.
“You go forward to him being drafted and to Richmond’s credit, I reckon they thought, well, we’ve got something pretty special here, and you’d have to ask others, but he probably wasn’t reined-in, (in) terms of being structured.
“I think 17 other (players) were happy to cover for what he could do. It’s a masterstroke by them (Richmond), and it’s great coaching to allow an individual to be an individual if it’s going to help both the individual and the team. And that’s what it did.’’
At 17, Martin was compared to Joel Selwood, who was just 21 at the time, and St Kilda’s tough-nut midfielder Lenny Hayes. He was described as an inside player who won his own ball, was accomplished outside and who liked to bust tackles.
“I like Lenny Hayes and Joel Selwood,” Martin said in that first interview.
“Joel is definitely similar to the way I want to play; just the way he wins the footy, gets it out, gets it again, his decision-making and vision, and without the footy, he’s really good.”
Byrne said Martin was the “best that’s come through’’ the Pioneers.
Martin on debut against the Blues in the opening round of 2010. Picture: Martin Philbey
And after the 2017 grand final triumph. Picture: David Caird
“Joel Selwood was another who was very good, but Dusty was ready-made,’’ Byrne said.
Asked this week what it was he most admired about Martin, Selwood said he remembered being asked by Ellis to meet the teenager in a cafe near the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo.
“I had a coffee and a chat with a polite, appreciative kid that loved the game,’’ Selwood said.
As a player, he said Martin had an “art very few have’’.
“If he’s close, you go out of the way to give it to him to make something happen,” Selwood said. “Dusty’s mind worked faster on the field than anyone else’s.”
Hayes said Martin had “inspired a whole generation’’.
“It’s the combination of brute power and skill, the precision and penetration with his kicking and the burst of speed and the fend-off,” Hayes said. “No one has been better in the big moments. I also admire that he has been true to himself and done it his way.’’
A concoction of playing and coaching legends this week spoke of Martin’s ability to make moments count. The greats all have that quality. When the moment arrives and when other players don’t want the ball for fear of making a mistake, it’s these moments that make players champions. They want the ball in their hands.
Martin celebrates with Trent Cotchin and Dion Prestia in the 2019 decider. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge
MR SEPTEMBER
Dustin Martin’s output in his 16 finals for Richmond.
SI: Score involvements
Match Opp Disp Goals SI MR Result 2022 EF Bris 15 1 4 #26 L 2020 GF Geel 21 4 9 #2 W PF Port 21 2 6 #3 W SF StK 25 1 9 #3 W QF Bris 18 0 4 #19 L 2019 GF GWS 22 4 8 #3 W PF Geel 22 2 9 #10 W QF Bris 14 6 10 #4 W 2018 PF C'wood 19 0 7 #37 L QF Haw 29 1 10 #2 W 2017 GF Adel 29 2 9 #1 W PF GWS 20 3 13 #6 W QF Geel 28 0 12 #1 W 2015 EF Nth Melb 21 0 2 #25 L 2014 EF Port 29 0 9 #14 L 2013 EF Carl 19 1 7 #28 L
MR: Match ranking
The AFL Season Guide says Martin was among Richmond’s best players in 11 of 13 finals played from 2017-22. He won the Norm Smith Medal in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Champion Data’s player rankings had Martin No.1 in the 2017 grand final, No.3 in 2019 behind Heath Shaw and Tim Taranto, and No.2 in 2020 behind Jayden Short.
Ranking points are only a guide, but it’s arguable Martin was best on ground in all three of Richmond’s 2017 finals, the 2018 qualifying final, the 2019 qualifying final and grand final, and three of the Tigers’ four finals in 2020. That’s nine of 13 in that stretch.
Ellis has watched Martin’s career, as we all have, and been mesmerised by his September feats.
Ellis played a small role, he said, and wants to believe that Martin is still the humble and respectful young lad he had under his wing at the Pioneers.
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“It was a privilege,’’ he said.
“I’ll tell you this, when my mum died, and I hadn’t spoken to Dusty a hell of a lot. He was drafted in 2009 and my mum died in 2013, and I got a text from him.
“I don’t know how he found out or who told him, but he sent me a text saying sorry to hear about Mum dying. You don’t forget that. Regardless of how much dialogue I have with him now, that was from a 22-year-old. I’ll never forget that.’’
Martin with fellow Richmond 300 game players Kevin Bartlett, Shane Edwards, Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Francis Bourke. Picture: Michael Willson
I was sitting just above this commentary team at the 2017 GF which Leigh Mathews was part of and once we looked like we had arrested control he did not look happy, maybe a bit anti Richmond
I stopped watching foxfooty ,front bar (.andy maher,s unrelenting dusty bashing anf andrew gazes to on sen after that photo at a strip joint wS dispicable,self righteous and repungent ..i loathe both) ..SEN was loathsome ...
Havent touched a herald scum.paper either...as for talking footy *smile* show ..what a crock if *smile* the footy media is .
Its liberating to ignore em all.
And i love dusty even more for having not one single word to say to the lot of em...
Havent touched a herald scum.paper either...as for talking footy *smile* show ..what a crock if *smile* the footy media is .
Its liberating to ignore em all.
And i love dusty even more for having not one single word to say to the lot of em...
I was hoping they were father/son/daughter prospects Dusty had kept underwrapsI dropped into punt road this morning with my kids. Dusty was good enough to have a photo with them.
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I think Lethal realised he wasn’t “the greatest” anymore. Sulky bastard can GAGF.
This reminds me of a family day in early 2018 at Holm Park when Dusty took a group of kids snapping goals. He was running around kicking goals and celebrating. Just pure love for the game. His humour and enthusiasm with the kids was. Infectious.I dropped into punt road this morning with my kids. Dusty was good enough to have a photo with them.
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Reckon Gilligan almost said it best. Greatest clutch player ever.
Then the brown nosing prick had to stuff it all up with the gentle polite man that I liked very much crap. Dusty may very well be a sweet gentle n polite man, but FMD Gilligan you'd hardly have met the bloke often enough or long enough to figure out whether he was like able or not, you just liked all the meedjia hype n attention ( shekels ) he brought for the AFL comp.
Then the brown nosing prick had to stuff it all up with the gentle polite man that I liked very much crap. Dusty may very well be a sweet gentle n polite man, but FMD Gilligan you'd hardly have met the bloke often enough or long enough to figure out whether he was like able or not, you just liked all the meedjia hype n attention ( shekels ) he brought for the AFL comp.
Nah, media no problem for Dusty - answer to every question will be "credit to the boys". Wouldn't be that different to a lot of coaches' press conferences.
DS
On one of the TV shows tonight I saw footage of several current players explaining that they thought all sorts of other geniuses were GOAT but not Dustin Martin.
I used to make jokes on this thread about how that #4 used to be good at football. Metamodern footballers are all over that. They're better than Whatsisname. They can't *smile* sweat. Air.
His Holy Eminence can't walk ATM. Wide spec - L4/5 or soleus. (Both?) But he's had a rest. Whatsisgod might get a kick.
Can we get pick 90 for Him?
I used to make jokes on this thread about how that #4 used to be good at football. Metamodern footballers are all over that. They're better than Whatsisname. They can't *smile* sweat. Air.
His Holy Eminence can't walk ATM. Wide spec - L4/5 or soleus. (Both?) But he's had a rest. Whatsisgod might get a kick.
Can we get pick 90 for Him?
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