Player Watch #4 Dustin Martin

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Rumballs said:
Who doesn't love a nice Dusty story
www.theage.com.au

Dusty's spring field

Big-game Tiger hates letting his teammates down and a poor final last year when injured may make him even more dangerous than usual.
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Click to expand...

If we win it all, he will have won another Gary Ayers medal and probably the Norm Smith (tho a few boys might pip him in the Granny).
 

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Dusty Martin has played one poor final. It was his last one, and he was injured.
The fact that ordinarily he is anything but ordinary in September would be reason to think that this again will be Dusty’s time. That he didn’t do well last time is the even more compelling reason to think this will be Dusty’s month.
Come spring, the field is Dusty’s








What drives Dusty Martin, and what makes him the player who perhaps threatens to shape September more than any other player, is not physical.

He has the physical tools that make him good, but in September there are a lot of good players. The difference with Martin is he has an attitude that makes him a great.
Those who know him at Richmond, like former assistant coach Mark Williams, say he is driven by a determination not to let anyone down.
“A great deal of it is about making his dad – and his mum – proud. That really drives him. He wants to make those he loves - his parents and his teammates and his coach 'Dimma' [Damien Hardwick] – proud of him. He doesn’t want to let them down, he wants to be the one they rely on,” Williams said.
“He is very protective so he wants to look after them and do it for them.
“He loves to deliver for his teammates, he does not want to let 'Dimma' or his teammates down. That drives him. He cares about them.”

The fact he had a poor preliminary final last year was in part a product of this. Martin suffered a bad corkie and probably should not have played, but did not want to let anyone down, so he played.
“Until this year he hardly missed a game but he has learnt it is not always the best thing to play hurt,” another Richmond person said.
Dustin Martin at training this week.
Dustin Martin at training this week.CREDIT:EDDIE JIM
“Some days he could hardly walk on the Thursday and he would still get up and play because he just loves playing.”
Telling Martin he could not play due to injury is about the most unenviable job at the club.

It might come as a surprise given assumptions based on image but Dusty Martin is also meticulous with his preparation.
The idea that he played with the injury and could not have the impact he wanted last year will be scratching away at the back of Martin’s head this year, according to some who know him well, and will accentuate the already strong desire to be the player who performs for his teammates.
“He likes to make people proud and he has that belief he can make a difference. He wants the ball because he knows he can make a difference and has complete confidence in himself,” Williams added.
Another Richmond person described him succinctly: “He is a give-me-the-ball player.”
Big-game player: Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal in 2017.
Big-game player: Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal in 2017.CREDIT:THE AGE

There are players who, when things are at the most critical, do not want the ball. The responsibility is too much. Martin isn’t one of those players.
“I think Dusty and very elite players live for the big stage. Whereas some might hide and fade away under the microscope that's where he gets great,” Williams said.
“He grows another leg in regard to belief. He likes chasing carrots and for him the carrot is, 'OK, I’ve won one, I want to win another. What is the next thing I have not done?' He likes the challenge of the occasion and what he can do on the biggest stage.
“In finals there is typically more pressure, more intensity, more contact, more collisions, more contests and he fires in those conditions.”
While he was surprisingly left out of the All-Australian team last week, Martin has been close to the form that has already won him a Brownlow and a Norm Smith Medal as Richmond finished the home-and-away season with a nine-game winning streak.


At Richmond the Dusty-and-Tigers riddle is a chicken-and-egg conundrum: what came first Dusty’s form or Richmond’s? You can’t unscramble the two.
“We just started to get on a roll and we all started to hit some form at the right time. I don't know if it was part of us just getting him (Martin) more involved in the game,” teammate Dion Prestia said this week.
He acknowledged something that Williams raised, that some people in Martin’s situation would be satisfied with their achievement. Martin looks for the next thing to chase, the next carrot as Williams put it.
“It would be pretty hard after everything that he has won over the last couple of years to keep going," Prestia said.

"There is not much more motivation you need than to get another premiership under your belt.
"His last six or seven weeks have been amazing. He is a big-time player. This week off, I would say has freshened everyone up and got everyone ready to go."
Martin is ready to go. It’s finals, it's spring, the field is Dusty’s.
He makes it look easy but then, as Dusty would know, being good isn’t always easy no matter how hard you try.
 

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Dustin Martin has undergone a spiritual awakening.
There was an off-season hike in Ubud, and then the decision to read to learn “real things” rather than watching “garbage TV”.

He also revealed earlier this year that he had his nose tucked inside Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment.

Best mate and Richmond captain Trent Cotchin describes Martin’s transformation as an “interesting phase” that stretches well beyond the football field.

“(The endeavour) hasn’t been about his footy really, it’s just been about his life,” the skipper says.




“I think he’s mentioned that he’s suffered a bit of anxiety here and there, and is just finding new ways of just being in the moment rather than worrying about what has happened or what is going to happen.

“I know that he loves yoga, when I tell people that he’s read a few books, some find it hard to believe.”

To further complete this new-age approach, 28-year-old Martin follows a host of spiritual guidance accounts on Instagram and meditates regularly.


“Evolve to higher self,” one reads.

“As we grow up, we realise it becomes less important to have more friends and more important to have real friends,” says another.

Dustin Martin at Richmond training.
Dustin Martin at Richmond training.
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Cotchin says the change in Martin has brought the pair even closer.

“The thing that I love about Dusty’s journey is how much he’s just explored in learning about himself,” Cotchin says.

“And others, particularly.

“There’s been a number of times where I’ve said he’s one of the most caring people in our footy club or that I even know, and I think that would surprise a lot of people given how he can come across at times in the media or just in general.

“He’s very genuine and cares a lot. It’s just been good to watch.”

It seems a million miles from the nervous kid who was drafted from the Bendigo Pioneers and thrust in front of the media, let alone the day in July 2012 when he was suspended, and teammate Daniel Connors sacked, for missing training as a result of taking sleeping pills.

Those closest to him say he’s grown up, with his maturity now a major asset.

Martin — like many Tigers — has long worked closely with mind coach Emma Murray.

Dustin Martin is back to his barnstorming best. Picture: Michael Klein
Dustin Martin is back to his barnstorming best. Picture: Michael Klein
The self-confessed introvert struggled with the attention that followed his record-breaking 2017 season — a premiership, a Brownlow Medal, the Norm Smith Medal, the club best-and-fairest, an All-Australian blazer and the AFL Players’ Association and Coaches’ Association MVP awards

“It’s like, ‘s…, what’s next?’,” he told website Complex in a rare interview at the end of 2018.

Cotchin says the toll had been evident last year.

“If you asked anyone, particularly if you’re the most talked about player in the competition, you probably do get sick of people talking about you, either behind your back or in the paper,” he said.

“That can sometimes just take a toll on you.”

Cotchin says Martin is his own harshest critic with regards to performance.

“He cares, so he feels like, ‘If I’m not performing to the level that I think I should be, then I’m letting my teammates down’.

“He went on a journey of working out what he really values, but also what others really value of him.
“It gave him a lot of clarity.”

Martin’s long-time manager Ralph Carr – who describes the Tiger as a “hugely bankable brand” – says his client’s personal growth in recent years is undeniable.

“I think Dustin’s personal development has been due to his personal maturity,” Carr says.

“He understands his responsibilities as a professional footballer and ambassador of the game.

“The changes I have noticed is his willingness, through more confidence, to help others and be more involved in helping Richmond achieve the ultimate success.”

All-Australian Tiger defender Bachar Houli says his Brownlow Medal-winning teammate has discovered his voice.

“I’ve got to, over the last two or three years, spend a little bit more time with Dusty, and the way he speaks up in meetings now … you can tell he’s matured a lot,” Houli says.

“He’s all about the team … it’s about giving it to someone in a better position, as well.

“That shows growth in his football and off-field, his decision has been to really change his life. I’m sure Trent Cotchin has had a massive impact on his life, as well.”

Bachar Houli says he has grown closer to Dustin Martin.
Bachar Houli says he has grown closer to Dustin Martin.
It’s an evolution that has impressed the hierarchy at Punt Rd.

Richmond football boss Neil Balme says the beginning of the season saw Martin “doing a lot of the hard work” in the absence of fellow senior players, but as the team got stronger, so has he.

Between Rounds 1 and 6, he averaged 21 possessions a game. By the last five games, that average rocketed to 32.

His more vocal nature, according to Balme, has been a welcome addition to his already blistering football ability.

“He’s turned into a damn good leader, actually. Terrific,” Balme says.

“He now realises that his teammates want and are interested in his opinion – they want his buy-in.

“They want to know what he’s thinking and they want to be able to engage with him. He’s not the noisiest, but he’s grown into it.”

Trent Cotchin embraces Tiger teammate and close friend Dustin Martin.
Trent Cotchin embraces Tiger teammate and close friend Dustin Martin.
Balme has just about seen it all in football with a playing and administration career that spans six almost decades.

While the fast haircut and stunning array of tattoos isn’t really his flavour, he remains regularly stunned by the Martin’s undeniable brilliance.

“No matter how long you’ve been involved, and no matter how much you normalize it, every now and again he’ll do something and you go, ‘Gee whiz – he can play’,” Balme says.

“He still does that fairly regularly, which is good. He’s not trying something impossible, it’s just the way he plays. And he is still great to watch.”

Cotchin isn’t surprised by interest in his close relationship with Martin – or “Uncle Usty” to the Cotchin kids, who love spending time with the star onballer.



He understands how from the outside they might seem like football’s Odd Couple.

But the further evolution of his teammate, fellow premiership player and friend has only seen his pride swell as the pair hunt a second flag in three years in coming weeks.

“The majority of our values align really well, and that’s why we have such a special friendship,” Cotchin says.

“I’m more proud about him in life and in general more so than footy.

“To me, that’s just part of him, whereas there’s a whole lot more to him than what we see every day.”

DUSTIN MARTIN 2019

Mid-forward

Disposals: 27.1 ELITE

Contested possessions: 10.7 ELITE

Metres gained: 476 ELITE

Clearances: 4.5 ELITE

Assists: 1.6 ELITE

Score Involvements: 7.1 ELITE
 
Going a tad early.But by the time Dusty retires(if not already) i think he will be seen as the best Tiger ever.I've seen past greats in Royce Hart/KB/Francis Bourke/Jack Dyer(never seen but)do some amazing things during their careers but i think Dusty has them covered.
He has opposition players shitting themselves no matter what size in a one on one contest.He's nearly untackleable around the ball and his kicking is elite when he puts his mind to it.
I'll go one step further and say he should be in the same conversation at the end of his career when people mention Leigh Mathews and Wayne Carey.
 

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thefendoff said:
Could he play this 70-30 forward split he’s played in finals for the whole year next year??
Think it’s the most I’ve seen him forward and it’s devastating he’d go close to kicking 50. We have the midfield depth now
Click to expand...

Imagine dusty, lynch and jack all kicking 50 odd
 
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