Has there ever been a better big-game player than Richmond legend Dustin Martin?
Dusty, who played between the midfield and forward line, led Richmond to premiership success in 2017, 2019, and 2020. Alongside his impressive achievements at a club level, Martin is also a Brownlow Medallist, having won the award in 2017. Still, he is also the only player to date to have won three Norm Smith Medals, eclipsing the previous record of two held by Luke Hodge, Gary Ayres, and Andrew McLeod.
After fifteen seasons at Richmond, Martin retired from the game at the end of the 2024 season, ending speculation that he would move to the Gold Coast to play again under former Richmond Coach, Damien Hardwick. Martin would become an unusual player in the AFL, eschewing contact with the football media after experiencing issues with the media in the middle of his career, similar to actions taken by other legends like Gary Ablett Sr and Tony Lockett, both of whom also had issues with the media attention during their respective careers.
Martin was picked up by the Tigers in the 2009 draft behind Tom Scully and Jack Trengrove and made his debut in Round One of the 2010 season, where he was one of Richmond’s most prolific possession-getters. Halfway through Martin’s first season, opposition coaches were already setting tags to nullify his impact in the game. In his second season, Martin began showing glimpses of the player he would become, recording 33 possessions and kicking four goals against North Melbourne.
However, towards the middle of his season, Martin was involved in a few unsavoury incidents that almost threatened to derail his career. In 2012, Martin and teammate Daniel Connors slept through a mandatory training session, which saw Martin being suspended and Connors being sacked from the club. A few years later, Martin was involved in another incident where he allegedly threatened to stab a woman at a restaurant with a chopstick during a heated argument.
Imagine that on your tombstone? Died tragically… in a chopstick-related incident.
Luckily for Richmond, Martin appeared to mature over the course of his career and became a leader at the club. Martin led the team back to finals for the first time since 2001, but the team was bundled out in the first week by a spirited Carlton side in slightly controversial circumstances after the Blues only qualified for the finals when Essendon were punished for their involvement in the supplement scandal.
In 2017, Martin would arguably have the best year of his career, winning the Brownlow Medal and leading the Tigers to Premiership glory, winning the first of his three Norm Smith Medals, kicking two goals while playing out of the middle with six clearances and 22 contested possessions.
In 2018, Martin and the Tigers would end the home and away season in first place, losing four games the whole year. After a comprehensive victory in the Qualifying Final against Hawthorn, the Tigers lost to Collingwood in the Preliminary Final, where Martin was held to just 19 possessions.
Richmond and Martin bounced back in 2019, returning to the finals for the third consecutive season. Martin again proved a valuable player during the finals campaign. He kicked 12 goals across all three finals, including four in the Grand Final against Greater Western Sydney, winning Martin his second Norm Smith Medal.
Richmond would then go back-to-back with their third Premiership in four years in the Covid-affected 2020 season. Again, Martin proved invaluable in the Grand Final victory against Geelong, leading Richmond’s goal-scoring on the day with four goals.
Vision of him brushing off his contemporary, Patrick Dangerfield, on the boundary, before turning and snapping his fourth, are burned into the mids of both Richmond, and Geelong supporters.
Unfortunately, Martin and the Tigers would slowly fall away after 2020 as his career began taking a toll on his body. Martin missed a significant number of games in the 2022 and 2024 seasons. At the end of the 2024 season, Martin retired with a final tally of 302 career games, 338 career goals, and 213 career Brownlow votes.
Performances of Note
Richmond versus North Melbourne, Round 5, 2011
The game between Richmond and North Melbourne in the 2011 season was undoubtedly Dustin Martin’s break-out game. In his second season for the Tigers, Martin had switched from the number 36 to 4, and after a few games, the Richmond legend showed the first glimpse of the explosive player he would become in his career. Not only did Martin gather 30+ possessions for the first time, but he also kicked four goals as Richmond won by 9 points.
Martin covered the ground during the game, racking up eight rebound fifties, indicating that he didn’t exactly stay up forward the entire game. The game would be the first in which Martin would earn the maximum three Brownlow votes, something that he achieved 42 times during his career.
Richmond versus Brisbane, Qualifying Final, 2019
After suffering a disappointing season in 2018 following Richmond’s premiership in 2017, Martin and the Tigers bounced back in 2019 with Martin leading the way. At the end of the home and away season, the Tigers finished third and travelled to Brisbane for the Qualifying Final. Martin dominated the game, playing predominantly up forward, kicking six goals from fourteen possessions. The win gave the Tigers the week off and marked the first time that Richmond won 10 games in a row since 1980.
Richmond versus Greater Western Sydney, Grand Final, 2019
In the 2019 Grand Final, Martin’s Richmond played off against GWS. This was the Giant’s first Grand Final appearance since the team was founded. After winning the Norm Smith Medal in 2017, Martin took his performance up another gear. In the final game of the season, Martin kicked four goals and had 22 possessions, over half of them contested possessions through the middle. Unsurprisingly, Martin’s performance would earn him a second Norm Smith Medal on the day.
