Martin stays in house of rising Suns
JACK Martin says it was a “no-brainer” to re-sign with the Suns who are poised to go into the 2017 season with all of their big names locked away.
Martin has inked a two-year contract extension that will tie him to the club until the end of 2019 in a huge boost to the club’s stocks.
It continues a busy period for the club, with key personnel David Swallow, Touk Miller, Peter Wright and Callum Ah Chee all re-signing recently.
The Suns have secured the futures of all their biggest names who were out of contract this season except co-captain Steven May who has already said a new deal was just a formality.
It is a far cry from last year where the club battled to convince Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia to stay before losing them to Hawthorn and Richmond respectively.
“Steven May is in contract talks now but I’m sure they will get something done soon,” Martin said.
“It’s exciting to see Swallow, Miller, Peter Wright, Callum Ah Chee and these guys signing. The future is looking bright.”
While the club has been buoyant ahead of recent seasons before cruel injury tolls have intervened, Martin said rival teams and the public would see a vastly improved side that was putting no ceiling on what they could achieve in 2017.
“The training standards have gone to another level and everyone is holding each other to account,” Martin said.
“Time will tell when we come around and start playing games of footy.”
Martin joined Gold Coast as a 17-year-old after being taken No.1 in the 2012 mini-draft and signed a five-year deal ahead of the 2013 season before he even played an AFL game.
His first two seasons were marred by a dislocated shoulder in his debut in 2014 before hamstring and ankle injuries in 2015.
But he bounced back to play 21 games last season to finish third in the club’s best and fairest award behind winner Tom Lynch and Jarrod Harbrow.
The West Australian said he never entertained the idea of leaving the Suns.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” Martin said. “I didn’t meet with any other clubs at all. I sat down with my manager (and) I said, ‘this is where I want to be’ so it was pretty straight forward.”
Martin’s family visited the Gold Coast over the off-season to see the new $22 million training and administration base and “loved it”.