BRILLIANT DUSTY HUNGRY AS EVER
RICHMOND superstar Dustin Martin will start the season in excellent condition after showing on the training track this summer that he was hungry for more success.
Tigers high-performance chief Peter Burge confirmed the squad was in good shape heading into the new season, with only three players in the rehabilitation group.
Ruckman Ivan Soldo and youngster Noah Cumberland are out with serious knee injuries, while Bachar Houli is in doubt for Round 1 with the calf problem he suffered in the grand final. Gun midfielder Dion Prestia tweaked his ankle in match simulation last week, but is expected to be back in full training next week.
Burge said Martin (pictured), who will turn 30 this year, had enjoyed another outstanding pre-season and was showing no signs of slowing down.
“He’s been pretty impressive, Dusty,” Burge said.
“He would hate for me to be talking him up, but for someone who has achieved so much in the past few years, you could excuse someone maybe for just taking their foot off the pedal.
“But he has done the opposite. He doesn’t miss training, he is always looking to do more, and he’s just really impressive.”
Burge said that even after a decent session on Monday at Punt Road Oval, Martin had been keen to do more.
“He asked me afterwards if he could do a (extra) fartlek (interval running) session,” Burge said.
“I said ‘Mate you don’t need to do it today, you’ve got a pretty heavy session coming up’, but quite often he will do something anyway, because he likes to maintain that high standard.
“He’s older and more mature and he really enjoys being around his teammates, given COVID and all of the restrictions. He gets a real lift coming in to the club and training. It’s his outlet and he loves it.”