Player Watch #4 Dustin Martin

[Zoom]

mate you said he is the biggest fall from grace in the history of sport, thats overreacting. what is actually wrong with you lol
im pretty sure everyone agrees he is not in the best of form, but saying stupid statements like the biggest fall from grace in the history of sport is an overreaction

No I didn’t. I merely asked the question and no one provided an example of a player who had a bigger fall from grace. All the players mentioned were smaller drop offs over larger periods of time or fell off due to injury or other circumstances. No player has ever been the best in the comp then two years later been as bad as Dusty has been. It’s unheard of. Obviously the echo chamber doesn’t like hearing that though.

 

[amc11]

He is simply out of form, it happens to players. He is not disinterested or can't give a **** etc, that's rubbish. He is working his ass off to climb out of his down patch and I'm 100% he will and soon

It amazes me just how quickly so many 'fans' almost gleefully jump to put the boots into one of our champions especially the carry on about salary, disinterest, can't be bothered, lazy etc etc. Perception is so very subjective and I get it, most of us have the need to blame someone or something for perceived failings. Regardless of how anyone wants to view this current season, Dustin Martin in his first year with the Tigers was 4th in our B & F, in 2012 his lowest finish of 10th place, every other year of his playing history with Richmond he has finished top 3 including back to back wins in 2016 /17.

This season is like no other that Martin, the club, the coaches and the fans have experienced previously. Remember Martin is the youngest of the "Big Four" and although there have been minor injuries along the way, this is the first time in 10 years having to play consecutive games with only one of the four in the team. Add to that the loss of Shaun Grigg due to injury in the pre-season and is there any wonder Martin himself is struggling to reach the heights of previous years? That is almost 900 games of experience, match hardness, guile, footy smarts and connection that have disappeared. Just like the rest of us, Dustin Martin is human, unlike the rest of us - he seems to be held to a ridiculous standard of expectation.

Despite what people may think of his game on Saturday, Martin was our highest possession winner, our highest contested possession winner, rated 12th overall as far as AFL player ratings and 5th for Richmond, 2 goal assists, 440 metres gained, 4 inside 50s, with 76% DE. A more workman-like rather than flashy performance doesn't make it as bad as many want to believe. There is obviously a few problems especially with footwear and for those who don't think choice of boots should make any difference I challenge you to run around playing a high level sport with painful feet. We all know Martin doesn't get a fair go in the free kick department but is pinged so quickly with holding the ball decisions against him even when not trying to fend off.

Seriously people stop buying into all the damn fantasy / super coach / whatever else people are carrying on about when looking at overall performances. Look again at the results of our club Best and Fairest - in seven out of nine seasons Dustin Martin has been in the TOP THREE, yeah that to me really screams one year wonder! His consistency has been incredible and I look forward to seeing that continue for many years to come especially with the level of professionalism Martin applies to his craft.

 

[Zoom]

Tex.

Not as bad as Dusty’s fall. In fact nowhere near it. Tex has never been an All Australian. His best goal output was 63 goals back in 2012. He was pretty consistent through to 2017 then last year he was injured for half the year and this year he is struggling. They both look very ordinary are are probably on a similar level but Dusty fell from much higher up. He was the best player in the comp in 2017. Tex was not.

 

[tropicaltiger]

dusty is either playing sore or being managed for minutes to ensure hes cherry ripe for second half of season, same with nank... both only played approx 70% of game time... only rioli played less and he was obviously severely hampered.

 

[SumTingWong]

3/6 games he has played well.
his 2017 form just set a very very high standard

For the money he's on 3/6 good games is not anywhere near good enough. He needs a rocket up his ass.

 

[jc12]

No I didn’t. I merely asked the question and no one provided an example of a player who had a bigger fall from grace. All the players mentioned were smaller drop offs over larger periods of time or fell off due to injury or other circumstances. No player has ever been the best in the comp then two years later been as bad as Dusty has been. It’s unheard of. Obviously the echo chamber doesn’t like hearing that though.

what do you mean no you didnt? you said yourself and probably believe he is the biggest fall from grace in sport. we are 7 rounds into the season and he is considered the biggest fall from grace in sport? are you ok lol. considering he has also had some good games this season and was still all Australian last year. noone agrees with you thats why they are not replying lol

 

[Zoom]

what do you mean no you didnt? you said yourself and probably believe he is the biggest fall from grace in sport. we are 7 rounds into the season and he is considered the biggest fall from grace in sport? are you ok lol. considering he has also had some good games this season and was still all Australian last year. noone agrees with you thats why they are not replying lol

Point out where I said he was. I asked the question and no one (including yourself) could provide an example of a bigger fall from grace.

A “good” Dusty game this year is a quiet one in 2017. Basically highlights how far he has fallen in the space of 18 months.

 

[Rodney Dangerfield]

Legitimate question, has there ever been a bigger fall from grace in the history of the sport? Obviously I’m not referring to players who decline due to age or injuries, just talking purely form here. He has gone from being undisputedly the best player in the comp to regularly being outperformed by first year players in the space of 18 months. It’s absurd. I get that opposition players put work into him, but FMD, he’s not the first player to cop some attention.

Woweeee... he’s not in his form of 2017 and quite frankly I never expect him to be again, it was ridiculous.
But that does not constitute a fall from grace! Far from it.
A fall from grace is your Wayne Carey, Ben Cousins type s**t. Could name dozens.
His form drop is nowhere near the first of its kind and won’t be the last. You can’t produce the stuff he was forever and it’s being grossly exaggerated how bad it actually is.

 

[Bojangles17]

regardless of form - every/any one can tackle/chase/harass/pressure ....

He has been and it’s not exactly the problem if you ve seen him play in recent years

 

[NaturalDisaster]

I think Dusty put too much pressure on himself to live up to 2017, hence why he struggled with mental health last season.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

No I didn’t. I merely asked the question and no one provided an example of a player who had a bigger fall from grace. All the players mentioned were smaller drop offs over larger periods of time or fell off due to injury or other circumstances. No player has ever been the best in the comp then two years later been as bad as Dusty has been. It’s unheard of. Obviously the echo chamber doesn’t like hearing that though.

Essendon Football Club...

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Jobe Watson...

 

[Zoom]

Woweeee... he’s not in his form of 2017 and quite frankly I never expect him to be again, it was ridiculous.
But that does not constitute a fall from grace! Far from it.
A fall from grace is your Wayne Carey, Ben Cousins type ****. Could name dozens.
His form drop is nowhere near the first of its kind and won’t be the last. You can’t produce the stuff he was forever and it’s being grossly exaggerated how bad it actually is.

OK, that’s fair enough. I will re-word it then. Can you provide an example of a player that has had a bigger drop in form in a shorter period of time than Dustin Martin circa 2017 to now? I’m struggling to think of one player. I’m only 32 though, so maybe a few of the older blokes would know someone, but in modern day footy, this is not a regular occurrence. I will also reiterate that there can be no obvious reason for the form drop so injuries, naturally declining due to age, etc. don’t count.

Adam Cooney is probably the best example that has been thrown up, but Cooney’s best year was not as good as Martin’s and he seemed to play some decent footy for some time after he won the Brownlow then fell off due to injuries. Dan Hannebery comes to mind but his body is banged up.

I’m not saying that I expected Dusty’s 2017 form to carry through to the end of his contract (although I admit I did think he’d maintain it for longer than he has), but I didn’t think he’d drop off this badly (and so quickly). He should still be in the prime off his career given his age and quality of the players surrounding him, but he’s not. He’s having his worst ever season statistically (and to the naked eye, IMO) since his debut year in 2010.

 

[Tiger71]

It amazes me just how quickly so many 'fans' almost gleefully jump to put the boots into one of our champions especially the carry on about salary, disinterest, can't be bothered, lazy etc etc. Perception is so very subjective and I get it, most of us have the need to blame someone or something for perceived failings. Regardless of how anyone wants to view this current season, Dustin Martin in his first year with the Tigers was 4th in our B & F, in 2012 his lowest finish of 10th place, every other year of his playing history with Richmond he has finished top 3 including back to back wins in 2016 /17.

This season is like no other that Martin, the club, the coaches and the fans have experienced previously. Remember Martin is the youngest of the "Big Four" and although there have been minor injuries along the way, this is the first time in 10 years having to play consecutive games with only one of the four in the team. Add to that the loss of Shaun Grigg due to injury in the pre-season and is there any wonder Martin himself is struggling to reach the heights of previous years? That is almost 900 games of experience, match hardness, guile, footy smarts and connection that have disappeared. Just like the rest of us, Dustin Martin is human, unlike the rest of us - he seems to be held to a ridiculous standard of expectation.

Despite what people may think of his game on Saturday, Martin was our highest possession winner, our highest contested possession winner, rated 12th overall as far as AFL player ratings and 5th for Richmond, 2 goal assists, 440 metres gained, 4 inside 50s, with 76% DE. A more workman-like rather than flashy performance doesn't make it as bad as many want to believe. There is obviously a few problems especially with footwear and for those who don't think choice of boots should make any difference I challenge you to run around playing a high level sport with painful feet. We all know Martin doesn't get a fair go in the free kick department but is pinged so quickly with holding the ball decisions against him even when not trying to fend off.

Seriously people stop buying into all the damn fantasy / super coach / whatever else people are carrying on about when looking at overall performances. Look again at the results of our club Best and Fairest - in seven out of nine seasons Dustin Martin has been in the TOP THREE, yeah that to me really screams one year wonder! His consistency has been incredible and I look forward to seeing that continue for many years to come especially with the level of professionalism Martin applies to his craft.

Great post mate

 

[Cdog71]

OK, that’s fair enough. I will re-word it then. Can you provide an example of a player that has had a bigger drop in form in a shorter period of time than Dustin Martin circa 2017 to now? I’m struggling to think of one player. I’m only 32 though, so maybe a few of the older blokes would know someone, but in modern day footy, this is not a regular occurrence. I will also reiterate that there can be no obvious reason for the form drop so injuries, naturally declining due to age, etc. don’t count.

Adam Cooney is probably the best example that has been thrown up, but Cooney’s best year was not as good as Martin’s and he seemed to play some decent footy for some time after he won the Brownlow then fell off due to injuries. Dan Hannebery comes to mind but his body is banged up.

I’m not saying that I expected Dusty’s 2017 form to carry through to the end of his contract (although I admit I did think he’d maintain it for longer than he has), but I didn’t think he’d drop off this badly (and so quickly). He should still be in the prime off his career given his age and quality of the players surrounding him, but he’s not. He’s having his worst ever season statistically (and to the naked eye, IMO) since his debut year in 2010.

There isn’t an example of someone setting the bar as high as his 2017 season.
He isn’t doing the extraordinary but I also think he’s playing high forward more than he ever has, he will improve when we’ve got Jack back. He’s the most dangerous player on our list thats why he’s getting tagged, we get Cotch back and more of the likes of Baker, Ross and Caddy playing well and hitting the scoreboard oppo teams won’t be sitting players on him all game.
He’s not breaking games open but he is still making teams nervous, if it was the case he wasn’t getting tagged and scragged wvery game and still not playing really well, then I ‘d be worried

 

[jc12]

Point out where I said he was. I asked the question and no one (including yourself) could provide an example of a bigger fall from grace.

A “good” Dusty game this year is a quiet one in 2017. Basically highlights how far he has fallen in the space of 18 months.

Are you that crazy that you forgot what you said ?
These are the facts. We are 7 rounds in dusty has played 3 bad games. After being all Australian for 3 years in a row.

You go and put the question to us of , is this the biggest fall from grace in sport ?

That is over the top behaviour. Plain and simple. It's an overreaction to a guy going through a bad patch , if he has had a season or two of shitness and gets dropped. Then yes fair enough. But man we are 7 rounds in . Relax and calm down Lol. You do realise players go through up and down form?

The overreaction by people to a loss is incredible. One Loss and you'd think we were bottom of the ladder or something. Calm down

 

[jc12]

OK, that’s fair enough. I will re-word it then. Can you provide an example of a player that has had a bigger drop in form in a shorter period of time than Dustin Martin circa 2017 to now? I’m struggling to think of one player. I’m only 32 though, so maybe a few of the older blokes would know someone, but in modern day footy, this is not a regular occurrence. I will also reiterate that there can be no obvious reason for the form drop so injuries, naturally declining due to age, etc. don’t count.

Adam Cooney is probably the best example that has been thrown up, but Cooney’s best year was not as good as Martin’s and he seemed to play some decent footy for some time after he won the Brownlow then fell off due to injuries. Dan Hannebery comes to mind but his body is banged up.

I’m not saying that I expected Dusty’s 2017 form to carry through to the end of his contract (although I admit I did think he’d maintain it for longer than he has), but I didn’t think he’d drop off this badly (and so quickly). He should still be in the prime off his career given his age and quality of the players surrounding him, but he’s not. He’s having his worst ever season statistically (and to the naked eye, IMO) since his debut year in 2010.

No one here agrees with you lol and it's hilarious how you are clutching at straws to suit your agenda. Then when you were proven wrong (Cooney) make excuses for it.

Dusty had almost the best year of all time you can't find many people who has had that year. The only example is people who have been almost number 1 in their sport at least. And cooney was. And he didn't have another year close to it. In fact Dusty's 2018 was better than any other year cooney had post 2008 , your question answered coon dog lol

 

[tunksy]

And probably struggling with it this season too.

I think Dusty put too much pressure on himself to live up to 2017, hence why he struggled with mental health last season.

 

[Bazzar]

People's forget Dustys 2016 season, statistically better than 2017 just didn't get the accolades. Would be tough for anyone to back them up.
He dropped off last year, fair enough, but I'm still convinced he's not 100% fit.

 

[Zoom]

Are you that crazy that you forgot what you said ?
These are the facts. We are 7 rounds in dusty has played 3 bad games. After being all Australian for 3 years in a row.

You go and put the question to us of , is this the biggest fall from grace in sport ?

That is over the top behaviour. Plain and simple. It's an overreaction to a guy going through a bad patch , if he has had a season or two of shitness and gets dropped. Then yes fair enough. But man we are 7 rounds in . Relax and calm down Lol. You do realise players go through up and down form?

The overreaction by people to a loss is incredible. One Loss and you'd think we were bottom of the ladder or something. Calm down

No one here agrees with you lol and it's hilarious how you are clutching at straws to suit your agenda. Then when you were proven wrong (Cooney) make excuses for it.

Dusty had almost the best year of all time you can't find many people who has had that year. The only example is people who have been almost number 1 in their sport at least. And cooney was. And he didn't have another year close to it. In fact Dusty's 2018 was better than any other year cooney had post 2008 , your question answered coon dog lol

Are you that dumb that you don’t understand the difference between someone asking a question and making a definitive statement? I did the former. Read over my comments again if you’re still struggling with it. And just because I challenged some of the responses people gave me doesn’t mean I necessarily agree with the question I posed. No one gave me a satisfactory answer, apart from Cooney which I acknowledged was an acceptable one (although you chose to ignore that in your childish tantrum).

I would’ve expected you to reel off at least 25 players to justify your carry on. You came up with one and had many failed attempts (so did other people), so you clearly had difficulty answering it and that in itself should tell you that the question isn’t as ridiculous as you’re making it out to be.

Dusty has played one good game this season against the side who are on the bottom of the ladder. How impressive. He had three absolute shockers against GWS, Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and Collingwood plus a below average game against Carlton where he uncharacteristically could not hit a target. In the real world and outside of this echo chamber, his form is a concern, but by all means, keep your head buried into the sand.

And I don’t give a s**t if my opinion does not align with the group narrative on this board. You’re the only one on here who is desperately seeking the approval from strangers online. This board is often a circle jerk full of snowflake sycophants anyway, so I’m glad I can challenge some of the delusional fan boy love-ins from time to time. Anyone who can view Dusty’s form objectively would consider it a problem, but you keep pretending that it’s totally normal for a player to be the best in the competition one year then 18 months later be regularly outperformed by several guys in our side who have played less than ten games.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

He's been subdued and playing likewise.
Spent the off season with trips with families and kids in pools , rather than swanny in vegas.
Always a risk when you try to take the campaigner out a bloke.

 

[NaturalDisaster]

No one here agrees with you lol and it's hilarious how you are clutching at straws to suit your agenda. Then when you were proven wrong (Cooney) make excuses for it.

Dusty had almost the best year of all time you can't find many people who has had that year. The only example is people who have been almost number 1 in their sport at least. And cooney was. And he didn't have another year close to it. In fact Dusty's 2018 was better than any other year cooney had post 2008 , your question answered coon dog lol

Are you that dumb that you don’t understand the difference between someone asking a question and making a definitive statement? I did the former. Read over my comments again if you’re still struggling with it. And just because I challenged some of the responses people gave me doesn’t mean I necessarily agree with the question I posed. No one gave me a satisfactory answer, apart from Cooney which I acknowledged was an acceptable one (although you chose to ignore that in your childish tantrum).

I would’ve expected you to reel off at least 25 players to justify your carry on. You came up with one and had many failed attempts (so did other people), so you clearly had difficulty answering it and that in itself should tell you that the question isn’t as ridiculous as you’re making it out to be.

Dusty has played one good game this season against the side who are on the bottom of the ladder. How impressive. He had three absolute shockers against GWS, Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and Collingwood plus a below average game against Carlton where he uncharacteristically could not hit a target. In the real world and outside of this echo chamber, his form is a concern, but by all means, keep your head buried into the sand.

And I don’t give a **** if my opinion does not align with the group narrative on this board. You’re the only one on here who is desperately seeking the approval from strangers online. This board is often a circle jerk full of snowflake sycophants anyway, so I’m glad I can challenge some of the delusional fan boy love-ins from time to time. Anyone who can view Dusty’s form objectively would consider it a problem, but you keep pretending that it’s totally normal for a player to be the best in the competition one year then 18 months later be regularly outperformed by several guys in our side who have played less than ten games.

Continue the debate without the personal snipes thanks guys.

 

[Lsta062]

It amazes me just how quickly so many 'fans' almost gleefully jump to put the boots into one of our champions especially the carry on about salary, disinterest, can't be bothered, lazy etc etc. Perception is so very subjective and I get it, most of us have the need to blame someone or something for perceived failings. Regardless of how anyone wants to view this current season, Dustin Martin in his first year with the Tigers was 4th in our B & F, in 2012 his lowest finish of 10th place, every other year of his playing history with Richmond he has finished top 3 including back to back wins in 2016 /17.

This season is like no other that Martin, the club, the coaches and the fans have experienced previously. Remember Martin is the youngest of the "Big Four" and although there have been minor injuries along the way, this is the first time in 10 years having to play consecutive games with only one of the four in the team. Add to that the loss of Shaun Grigg due to injury in the pre-season and is there any wonder Martin himself is struggling to reach the heights of previous years? That is almost 900 games of experience, match hardness, guile, footy smarts and connection that have disappeared. Just like the rest of us, Dustin Martin is human, unlike the rest of us - he seems to be held to a ridiculous standard of expectation.

Despite what people may think of his game on Saturday, Martin was our highest possession winner, our highest contested possession winner, rated 12th overall as far as AFL player ratings and 5th for Richmond, 2 goal assists, 440 metres gained, 4 inside 50s, with 76% DE. A more workman-like rather than flashy performance doesn't make it as bad as many want to believe. There is obviously a few problems especially with footwear and for those who don't think choice of boots should make any difference I challenge you to run around playing a high level sport with painful feet. We all know Martin doesn't get a fair go in the free kick department but is pinged so quickly with holding the ball decisions against him even when not trying to fend off.

Seriously people stop buying into all the damn fantasy / super coach / whatever else people are carrying on about when looking at overall performances. Look again at the results of our club Best and Fairest - in seven out of nine seasons Dustin Martin has been in the TOP THREE, yeah that to me really screams one year wonder! His consistency has been incredible and I look forward to seeing that continue for many years to come especially with the level of professionalism Martin applies to his craft.

I don’t think anyone is questioning his performance in the past. He is ranked one of the highest in the league for a reason and he dominated our best and fairest for a reason.

However, the reality is that the moment you successfully negotiate a higher salary, the standard you are expected to perform at also goes higher. So his salary does have something to do with it, or else why is he paid one of the highest in the league? To produce stats like his Bulldogs game as one of his best games? No.

You see this in almost every profession and I don’t see AFL as being different to other professions. Yeah, his Bulldogs game was one of his better performances this season, but quite frankly it was similar in statistics to first-year midfielder Jack Ross’ game against Melbourne and Port Adelaide. For his Bulldogs game to be one of his middling to lower standard games would be fine, but the concern is that it was one of his better ones this season.

Nevertheless, the aforementioned points doesn’t change one thing - our support for him. Yes, he is performing lower than his salary would demand and I am not necessarily calling for the standards set upon him to be lowered, but as you said well, he is a human being and so are we. I think we all know how it feels to be performing below expected standards so we need to alleviate that pressure on him by being understanding as fellow humans. We need to be patient with him while he is going through this form slump. Riewoldt went through it, Cotchin went through it, Edwards went through it, Grigg went through it and Rance started off like that to name a few. All players have since bounced back from the form slump in latter seasons. Now it seems to be Martin’s turn and it could potentially last the entire season, I don’t know. What I do know is that I have the confidence that he’ll eventually bounce back like the others.

Additionally, we know that he recently opened up about his mental health and this may potentially be a contributing factor to the way he plays.

 

[amc11]

OK, that’s fair enough. I will re-word it then. Can you provide an example of a player that has had a bigger drop in form in a shorter period of time than Dustin Martin circa 2017 to now? I’m struggling to think of one player. I’m only 32 though, so maybe a few of the older blokes would know someone, but in modern day footy, this is not a regular occurrence. I will also reiterate that there can be no obvious reason for the form drop so injuries, naturally declining due to age, etc. don’t count.

Adam Cooney is probably the best example that has been thrown up, but Cooney’s best year was not as good as Martin’s and he seemed to play some decent footy for some time after he won the Brownlow then fell off due to injuries. Dan Hannebery comes to mind but his body is banged up.

I’m not saying that I expected Dusty’s 2017 form to carry through to the end of his contract (although I admit I did think he’d maintain it for longer than he has), but I didn’t think he’d drop off this badly (and so quickly). He should still be in the prime off his career given his age and quality of the players surrounding him, but he’s not. He’s having his worst ever season statistically (and to the naked eye, IMO) since his debut year in 2010.

In season 2018 Dustin Martin was awarded All Australian for the 3rd consecutive year, he was 3rd in Richmond's best and fairest, he was the number ONE player in the league for Total Score Involvements, the number ONE player for Average Score Involvements, the number ONE player for Total Centre Clearances, the number ONE player for both Total Inside 50s and Average Inside 50s, the FIFTH ranked player for Goal Assists, plus kicked 31 goals himself, picked up 19 Brownlow votes (personally I believe he was robbed of a few more and should have had at least 22-24), and at various times throughout the season battled with injury. His 2018 season may not have been as eye catching as 2017 but it was by no means a bad year.

We move to season 2019 and from all pre-season reports Dustin Martin was back in better shape than 2018 and raring to go. Most of us cringed in horror in the first JLT game when he landed awkwardly in a marking contest and as is the way with Martin and Richmond, any hints of lingering injury is completely downplayed. The first game of the season against Carlton he picked up coaches votes, the second he was tagged out against Collingwood in a game played under the cloud of having lost Alex Rance the previous week for the entire season. Third game, this time without Jack, and Short goes down with the elbow dislocation in the first 5 minutes, Rioli takes a nasty knock to the ribs, Cotch does his hamstring and the GWS tagger with the help of all his teammates is embarking on a targeted attack to completely put Martin off his game. Unfortunately we didn't have the cattle on the field to stop that in it's tracks before it escalated to it's final outcome with Martin being suspended for the first time in his over 200 game career. After a week off Martin returned for the Sydney game and picked up the top coaches votes amid more curiosity about his boot sponsor or rather the now lack of a sponsor. Against Melbourne it wasn't a statistically high game but he did kick a great crumbing goal and applied a lot more defensive pressure. Saturdays game against the Bulldogs I've already mentioned in my previous post so I don't share your opinion regarding a dramatic drop off.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we will all see the game, the players, and how they perform, so very differently depending on our own perceptions and biases. I firmly believe the loss of so many of our top line players (regardless of how well our younger brigade are doing) has a massive impact on the playing group. The impact is not able to be completely or rationally explained other than by games of experience and the subtlety of connection. There's going to be lots of ups and downs this season with the injury toll and the influx of our youth and that in itself is an incredible positive for the club.

 

[SunshineBoy]

It amazes me just how quickly so many 'fans' almost gleefully jump to put the boots into one of our champions especially the carry on about salary, disinterest, can't be bothered, lazy etc etc. Perception is so very subjective and I get it, most of us have the need to blame someone or something for perceived failings. Regardless of how anyone wants to view this current season, Dustin Martin in his first year with the Tigers was 4th in our B & F, in 2012 his lowest finish of 10th place, every other year of his playing history with Richmond he has finished top 3 including back to back wins in 2016 /17.

This season is like no other that Martin, the club, the coaches and the fans have experienced previously. Remember Martin is the youngest of the "Big Four" and although there have been minor injuries along the way, this is the first time in 10 years having to play consecutive games with only one of the four in the team. Add to that the loss of Shaun Grigg due to injury in the pre-season and is there any wonder Martin himself is struggling to reach the heights of previous years? That is almost 900 games of experience, match hardness, guile, footy smarts and connection that have disappeared. Just like the rest of us, Dustin Martin is human, unlike the rest of us - he seems to be held to a ridiculous standard of expectation.

Despite what people may think of his game on Saturday, Martin was our highest possession winner, our highest contested possession winner, rated 12th overall as far as AFL player ratings and 5th for Richmond, 2 goal assists, 440 metres gained, 4 inside 50s, with 76% DE. A more workman-like rather than flashy performance doesn't make it as bad as many want to believe. There is obviously a few problems especially with footwear and for those who don't think choice of boots should make any difference I challenge you to run around playing a high level sport with painful feet. We all know Martin doesn't get a fair go in the free kick department but is pinged so quickly with holding the ball decisions against him even when not trying to fend off.

Seriously people stop buying into all the damn fantasy / super coach / whatever else people are carrying on about when looking at overall performances. Look again at the results of our club Best and Fairest - in seven out of nine seasons Dustin Martin has been in the TOP THREE, yeah that to me really screams one year wonder! His consistency has been incredible and I look forward to seeing that continue for many years to come especially with the level of professionalism Martin applies to his craft.

Great post, one man doesn’t make a team, get of his back he is carrying the side