PLENTY OF WHAT-IF ASIDES ON MARTIN’S ROAD TO RICHMOND
EVERY AFL footballer has their what-if moments. For Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin, the majority and most meaningful feature the city of Sydney.
What if he didn’t move to western Sydney and live with his father after leaving school in Year 9?
What if the league’s now-defunct NSW scholarship scheme had less stringent rules?
What if the current academy system was in place when Martin, then aged 16, played seniors for Campbelltown?
What if he was born a few months earlier and Sydney, the first club to show a genuine interest in the softly spoken teenager, recruited him in the 2008 draft?
What if the Swans pulled off the trade that would have netted them pick No.3 in the 2009 draft?
What if Melbourne recognised his immense potential with pick No.1 in the 2009 draft, would he have taken the same steps as Tom Scully and signed with Greater Western Sydney?
What if he joined GWS at the various critical contract junctures in his career?
They are the sort of hypotheticals you can be certain Martin rarely ponders.
But it’s timely to think of the alternate paths the powerhouse midfielder, favoured to become the first player to win both the Brownlow and Norm Smith medal in one year, could have taken to superstardom.
An intensely private figure, he would obviously relish the relative anonymity that GWS and Sydney players enjoy.
Martin’s first taste of life in the harbour city wasn’t great — he hated the 12-hour shifts that included forklift driving at his dad’s business. Football was a release during that formative year.
Martin started his Sydney stint playing under-16s, worked his way up to under-18s and then was rewarded with a seniors call-up at Campbelltown.
Former club president Keiran Buckley recalls a “quiet kid with immense talent”.
“He was far too good for the 16s . . . you could tell he was something special,” he said.
“I remember we had to get a clearance for him to play seniors. His old man was happy to sign the form.
“He certainly held his own (playing against grown men). Not too many kids play senior footy at that age.”
Martin and teammates would chat about the NSW scholarship program, a golden ticket on to an AFL list, but he knew the residency requirement meant living in Sydney for a total of three years.
Martin missed home. He returned to Castlemaine, starting playing TAC Cup with Bendigo late in 2008 and, come the 2009 draft, was one of the nation’s most in-demand young athletes.
But it was the Swans’ recruiting guru Kinnear Beatson who first made him realise he was within reach of an AFL contract.
“I just got off the phone and looked at my friend and said: ‘What the hell?’” Martin said in 2009, describing Beatson’s call the previous year.
Beatson wanted to confirm Martin wasn’t eligible for the 2008 draft nor the league’s NSW scholarship system. Two swings, two misses.
Word got out about Beat-
son’s diamond in the rough in a big way during 2009.
The prospect of Martin slipping to Sydney, who boasted an uncharacteristically high No.6 pick in the draft after missing finals for the first and only time under Paul Roos, was slim to none.
“I’d be lying if I said I remember it clearly, but from memory Dusty was one of those kids who dropped (in the likely draft order) suddenly and quite late,” Roos said.
“He was definitely under the radar in Sydney. I remember interviewing him at some point and was a bit surprised to hear he’d played up there.
“We spoke about that, how hard that year was. He was a quiet kid. He’s still a quiet kid in many ways.
“There was no questioning his character and whether to draft him.”
Yet Melbourne was so confident about the skills of Scully and Jack Trengove that it didn’t interview Martin.
The Tigers have copped plenty in recent years about their various draft failures, but the Demons’ mistake is arguably worse, given they had the first two picks of 2009.
The Swans had a better idea of Martin’s promise. There are mixed reports of the exact trade that was pitched but it would seemingly have involved Sydney’s selections No.6 and No.14 being offloaded in exchange for pick No.3, ensuring Martin returned to NSW.
With hindsight, Martin for Gary Rohan and Lewis Jetta sounds pretty lopsided. At the time, two first-round picks must have been at least somewhat attractive. The Tigers knocked it back.
For the many decisions that have ended their 35-year wait for a grand final berth, this is among the most important.
Other good calls on that list include weathering a few bumps but agreeing to Martin’s contract extensions in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
For all the hype throughout this season, it was four years ago when he was arguably closest to leaving.
GWS has been as attractive as any of Martin’s suitors. Martin toured its facilities in 2013 but, by all accounts, shuffled around with minimal interest.
It was clear to all present that his heart was still at Punt Rd. It’s hard to imagine now that will ever change, regardless of today’s result