RETURN OF DUSTY KICKS UP PLENTY OF TIGERS EMOTION
DUSTIN Martin woke up on Saturday having played only one game in the past 295 days.
The football world had wondered whether Martin’s days of dominating and delighting were over.
His path to the wilderness started with a lacerated kidney and peaked with the loss of his father.
But by 3.15pm he had the MCG charged once again, this time with emotion.
Jack Riewoldt’s perfectly weighted kick was marked by Martin as the MCG crowd of 64,481 rose as one.
And when he punched through his first goal Richmond huddled around him as one.
“It was a pretty touching moment when he kicked that goal and the whole side got to him,” coach Damien Hardwick said.
“I’d say there was a few misty eyes in the coaches’ box and down below as well.
“It was a nice moment to get some reward for his hard work that he’s put in on himself.”
The Tigers bared their teeth in Martin’s celebrated return to breeze past Collingwood by 27 points on the back of Tom Lynch’s five first-half goals.
The Tigers moved a match-high 47 points clear in the final quarter, only for the Magpies to add scoreboard respectability with four late goals.
The Tigers told Martin (23 disposals) to rotate each quarter and spend longer than usual on the bench.
Outside of that, he had a licence to play where he pleased. It was usually as a deep forward, although 14 minutes into the second quarter he marched into a centre bounce.
Martin started rusty, with his first rotation coming after 13 minutes where the footy refused to find him.
Then, after a five-minute break, the clues piled up that there were going to be many more moments to cherish in his career.
His eyes were sharp – a 90-degree kick on the outside of his right boot to Shane Edwards required eagle vision
His concentration was high – flailing arms while standing the mark as Isaac Quaynor launched an inside 50m was a sign of engagement.
His game sense was on – he urged Noah Balta to bang it long with 27 seconds left in the half, helping Riewoldt kick a goal after the siren.
His reflexes were fast – smothering Darcy Moore in the first quarter with extended fingers pointed to that.
His legs were powerful – he motored hard to get behind the Magpies’ press, setting up what should have been a simple Shai Bolton goal.
And, as Pat Lipinski will attest, his “don’t argue” was back.
Those are some of the ingredients that have made Martin great, and after the break that great moment materialised with that memorable goal.
When Martin struck again, putting the Tigers 47 points clear in the final term, a “Dusty” chant echoed around the ’G.
The stage has been greater before and the decibels have been higher, but only two weeks ago Martin remained in the wilderness.
So for the Tiger Army this must have been music to their ears.
Martin linked arms with Riewoldt for the song and by 4.45pm he sidled upstairs in the MCG carpark by himself.
The Tiger king was back.
And, according to Hardwick: “He’ll get better next week.”