Martin to be Jack of all trades

ASK Gold Coast’s coaching panel how best to use Jack Martin and they will likely give six different answers.

Head coach Rodney Eade’s response best sums up the dilemma posed by the 21- yearold utility.

“I’d like to have three Jacks; one forward, one back and one in the midfield,’’ he said.

“I think he will get time in all three areas and he won’t settle in one spot.’’

Martin last year delivered on his prodigious talent with a third- place finish in the club championships.

It was his first season not marked by a long- term injury and his chance to demonstrate the flexibility that has made him such an asset for the Suns.

He started the year as a forward, booting 10 goals in his first four games. When injury struck he was asked to plug a hole in defence where his maturity and decision- making, as well as clean ball use under pressure, stood out in a back six that was often under siege.

Late in the season, his minutes on the ball increased.

The Suns found he was not just a half forward who could pinch- hit in other areas, but a genuine all- rounder.

He missed last week with back tightness but will play against Essendon in Mackay tomorrow, where he will rotate across half forward and through the midfield.

Martin arrived in the competition with great expectations on his slender shoulders.

It came with being selected as a 16- year- old by the Suns, who traded away their first pick in the draft to secure him a year before he was eligible to play under the same rule they used to bring Jaeger O’Meara to the club.

Martin was also linked to O’Meara because they came from the same northern WA region and had played junior footy together.

While O’Meara immedi- ately lived up to the hype around him, Martin was injured in his first game and took three seasons to play 44 games.

The Suns always knew Martin could be as good as O’Meara, some believed he would be better.

O’Meara was a model of consistency while Martin has had his ups and downs, but his best games have been more damaging.

Now, the club says he is fitter than ever and concede the expectations he carried into his first AFL game, were now fair.

“The expectation internally is that he will improve on last year,’’ Eade said. “He’s had a very good pre- season.”