- Footy Great sends a message to critics with impressive performance
- Martin has been in the spotlight surrounding retirement talks.
- Essendon won by 12 points in thrilling clash against Dreamtime
Once again, Dustin Martin has let his football do the talking and almost led Richmond to a shock AFL victory over Essendon.
There had been a lot of talk about Martin’s form and future ahead of the Dreamtime At The ‘G clash.
But in his 298th game on Saturday, the media-shy star responded with a game that was classic Martin.
He scored three goals and was a constant problem for the Bombers, also missing two shots last season.
Dustin Martin (pictured) silenced his critics in Richmond’s narrow loss to Essendon
Martin had a kick inside the 50 late in the game, but couldn’t find a target and the Bombers were able to close out the match 12.14 (86) to 10.14 (74).
“He looks like the Dusty of old,” AFL great Shaun Burgoyne said on Channel 7 commentary.
Coach Adem Yze praised Martin and said criticism of his form had been unfair, pointing out that the injury-plagued Tigers are a very different team to the one that won three premierships between 2017 and 2020.
“It was good to see him get some reward on the field. He’s putting in a lot of effort, trying to lead our younger forwards,” Yze said.
“We have a very young forward right now, so synergy may take a little time.”
“He’s been used to playing with the same guys for the last 10 years.
“We are not the same team we were five years ago and we are dealing with quite a few injuries.”
Those injury problems continued on Saturday, when Tyler Young suffered a knee injury in their VFL game.
The soccer superstar scored three goals and was a constant problem for the Bombers.
Shai Bolton, another key Richmond player who lifted on Saturday night, had to be substituted in the final period.
He suffered a concussion when teammate Mykelti Lefau shot him from behind during a marking competition.
It was a crucial blow to the Tigers’ chances and Bolton will miss next Saturday night’s game against the Cats in Geelong.
‘This game means a lot to him, as we know. “It was unfortunate,” Yze said of the indigenous star.
“Losing it at that point in the game, it looked very dangerous.”
With Yze coaching from the bench, Richmond were a transformed team after massive losses in their previous two games to the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane.
Along with established players such as Martin, Bolton, Liam Baker and Toby Nankervis, youngsters such as Thompson Dow and Kane McAuliffe also shined.
Noah Balta switched from attack to defense during the match and Yze lamented, “I wish we had two of him.”
Overall, Richmond was impressive in bouncing back from a dirty two weeks.
“We feel like our fans would have been proud of the effort, that’s what we look forward to every week,” Yze said.
‘The main thing was our spirit and energy and being proud of the jumper… that’s the standard we want.
“All week, they hung in there as a group…really disappointed that we couldn’t come away with the win.”