Dustin Martin made a seamless transition from his dominant home-and-away season, when he entered the big stage at the MCG last Friday night, in Richmond’s qualifying final against Geelong.
Before a massive crowd of 95,028 he rose to the challenge superbly, producing another brilliant performance that helped propel the Tigers to a decisive 51-point victory, and further enhanced his awesome reputation at the game’s highest level.
The outstanding midfielder finished the match with 28 disposals, including 15 contested possessions, a game-high nine inside-50s, six clearances, a game-high 12 score involvements, game-high six score assists, five intercepts, seven tackles, 17 pressure acts and 419 metres gained.
Martin’s superb September showing prompted some glowing post-match praise from several of his teammates.
“He’s absolutely phenomenal to play with,” reliable Richmond defender Dylan Grimes said on SEN.
“You always know, and the fans know as well, that when he gets it, something great’s going to happen . . .
“He’s got this huge desire, as any major ball-winner has, to get the ‘puck’ in his hands. I think he probably calls louder than anyone else on the field.
“The good thing about Dusty is, even when he’s not getting the ball, he puts on elite defensive pressure.
“It makes the opposition second-guess themselves a little bit . . . And he sometimes draws two opponents and opens up someone else.
“I don’t think we’ve seen a star like Dusty be as unselfish as he is on-field, and reward his teammates by bringing them into the game as well.”
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin also paid tribute to Martin’s impressive defensive work.
“I’ve always seen the special part of his game is the ability to break games open, but I think the thing that I love most about Dusty is that he doesn’t just value the possessions and dominating games offensively,” Cotchin told 3AW.
“We’re seeing him putting in the really hard yards of defence as well, which sets the standard for everyone.”
Star Tigers key defender Alex Rance was simply in awe of Martin’s mighty brand of football.
“He’s just unstoppable . . . like on another level,” Rance said on 3AW.
“He’s so powerful, so strong.
“We love having him at the ‘Tigs’.”
Richmond’s gun mature-age midfield recruit, Dion Prestia, in his first season at Tigerland, expressed delight in now being Martin’s teammate.
“He’s a great player, Dustin,” Prestia said on SEN.
“It’s very hard to tackle him and he’s such a massive weapon for us.
“I’m pumped that he’s re-signed with us for another seven (years). I’m very happy with that.”
