Record-busting Dusty
DUSTIN Martin’s brilliant season was last night recognised by the umpires as the shortest-priced favourite in Brownlow Medal history won football’s highest individual honour with a record 36 votes.
The explosive midfielder has now been judged the best by the AFL’s coaches, players and umpires and he enters Saturday’s Grand Final against Adelaide as the game’s hottest star.
Martin, 26, joined Rory Sloane in the lead at Round 10 and was never headed from Round 11, registering a record 11 best-on-grounds to outpoll the ineligible Patrick Dangerfield (33 votes) and Hawthorn recruit Tom Mitchell (25).
Dangerfield opened a fourvote lead on Martin in Round 17 and again edged ahead after Round 21, following his onegame suspension for a dangerous tackle on Carlton’s Matthew Kreuzer.
But in the final round Martin eclipsed Dangerfield’s record of 35 votes set last year and the Geelong superstar then draped the medal around Martin’s neck as Richmond’s re-signed megastar became the club’s sixth Brownlow winner.
The Tigers will become the first grand final team to field two Brownlow medallists — Martin and captain Trent Cotchin — since Geelong’s Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel in 2009.
Martin this month edged Dangerfield for the AFL Coach’s Champion Player of the Year, won the AFL Players’ Association MVP in a landslide count and appears certain to secure back-to-back Richmond best-and-fairests next week.
A premiership medal on Saturday would complete the perfect season and immortalise Martin as a Richmond legend.
The kid from Castlemaine has produced one of game’s best individual seasons in history following a testing two years. Martin was briefly investigated by Victoria Police for allegedly threatening a woman with chopsticks in December 2015, after drinking at a music festival.
His father Shane Martin has since been deported to New Zealand and this season Martin navigated a media circus focusing on his protracted contract negotiations.
But Martin inked a sevenyear deal worth $8.75 million — the richest in Punt Rd history — this month, before powering the Tigers into their first Grand Final since 1982.
Private meditation sessions and extra boxing sessions helped Martin stay cool and focused on his footy this year.
Martin played every game this year, kicking a career-best 32 goals and averaging 30.3 disposals in the home-andaway season.
DON’T MISS YOUR DUSTIN MARTIN HERO POSTER IN TOMORROW’S ADDY