Nic Martin’s rise from draft snub to Essendon star

Nic Martin went from being overlooked in two drafts to kicking five goals on debut at the MCG. This is the story of how Essendon landed the ultimate SSP steal and the rival club who missed out.

It will go down as one of Essendon’s greatest heists.

We’re not talking about the Bombers overturning a 69-point deficit in 2001 against North Melbourne.

Or the trade deal with Fremantle which netted champion forwards Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas.

The supplementary selection period signing of Nic Martin in the final weeks of the 2022 pre-season didn’t attract the same headlines or fanfare.

Yet as Martin prepares to launch into his third season as a Bomber, it appears a seminal moment in the club’s long rebuild.

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West Coast had two opportunities to sign Martin, a player who was considered a top-20 talent during his draft year.

The first was in 2020, when Martin trained with the Eagles in pre-season but was overlooked for a full-time deal.

Martin returned for a second crack in 2021, only for a quad injury to ruin his hopes of proving West Coast’s decision-makers wrong.

“It was difficult, I suppose, for us and Nic to really understand what he needed to work on to get to the next level. That’s their prerogative, but it’s a change I would like to see in the system,” Martin’s WAFL coach at Subiaco, Beau Wardman, said.

“A couple of the clubs are pretty good with it, but I suppose there’s no necessity for them to be able to provide that feedback or guarantee down the track that if they improve they will get taken.”

On both occasions, Martin returned to Subiaco with a point to prove — to himself and the Eagles.

“You don’t control who gets picked and when,” Wardman said.

“When he missed out, he put all that energy into making himself a better player and a better person and you can see now the level of maturity that he’s got and the capacity to be able to play and use his offensive attributes.”

Nic Martin during his incredible debut against Geelong. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Reflecting on his stints with the Eagles, Martin said recently: “The pre-season going into my last year at Subiaco, I trained for West Coast for three weeks which was an unreal experience and really set me up for my Bombers stint.”

By the end of the 2021 season, Martin was a WAFL premiership player after having 14 disposals in a 44-point Grand Final triumph over South Fremantle.

And when Essendon came calling with the offer of a summer training spot, he was ready.

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Martin announced himself at the top level in spectacular fashion, debuting less than two months after signing his first AFL contract.

In front of almost 55,000 fans at the MCG, the then 20-year-old amassed 27 disposals, kicked five goals and tallied 10 marks against eventual premier Geelong.

Martin finished his maiden AFL campaign with 19 goals before transitioning from half-forward to a wing in 2023.

Now, coach Brad Scott is preparing to unleash Martin’s running power from half back to give Essendon even greater weaponry in defence.

Pretty special AFL debut in a big Essendon loss for Subiaco product Nic Martin. Had never kicked more than 4 goals or had over 21 touches during 25-game senior WAFL career. Comes out and boots 5 from 27 disposals. Great to see him get a chance after being overlooked in 2 drafts.

— Jordan McArdle (@jordan_mc12) March 19, 2022

“We predominantly used him forward and wing during his time at Subi, both at Colts and at senior level,” Wardman said.

“He probably had that extra little bit of height (and) he was becoming a difficult match up because he had the athletic prowess to be able to run and transition up and down the ground and become a more difficult match up for an opposition team that either had a big guy that couldn’t run or a runner that couldn’t compete in the air.

“He used that to his advantage and I think just as he matured into his own body and built his running power, you can see that’s enabled him to transition across the various lines.

“That’s testament to his own work rate. Every time he’s been back in Perth you see him back at Leederville Oval doing his program and then some. He’s normally running with a couple of our league blokes. That’s the discipline that he’s built up over his time. His capacity to play a variety of roles has certainly assisted him.”

Nic Martin has become an integral part of Essendon’s team. Picture: Michael Klein

Martin said he had doubts about playing in defence when the idea was first floated, but had been convinced by Scott that it would work.

“I think with my whole career I have sort of been thrown around a little bit, especially my AFL career,” he told 6PR Perth.

“I probably started forward, moved (to the) wing, now halback.

“Definitely keep my eyes open, my options available. Not putting a pigeonhole on where I can play in 2024 and sort of be that utility that Brad can throw to different roles.”

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Introduced in 2018, the supplementary selection period has regenerated AFL careers and given hope to top state league players and overlooked draft prospects.

More than 70 players have been selected in the past six years, with Bulldog Anthony Scott (57 games), Carlton’s Matt Cottrell (54), Sydney forward Hayden McLean (53) and St Kilda wingman Mason Wood (52) among the success stories.

Last season, two SSP signings featured in the Grand Final (Oleg Markov and Conor McKenna).

At 22 years of age, Martin is on track to eclipse the games tallies of Scott (29 years old), Cottrell (24), McLean (25) and Wood (30) to become the greatest SSP steal since the system was put in place.

Martin is set to be deployed at halfback this year. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

When the Bombers travelled west last year, Martin had 30 disposals for the first time in his AFL career — helping Essendon to a commanding win over the Eagles.

You can only wonder what West Coast powerbrokers must have been thinking watching a local talent who spent two pre-seasons under their noses run amok in red and black.

Asked if Martin would have been an Eagle if he hadn’t been injured in 2021, Wardman said: “It’s difficult to say. They probably had a selection (dilemma) over a couple of players. Whether they use that as an excuse … that’s up to them.”

Wardman puts Martin landing at Essendon down to “time, place and opportunity”.

“I think the lessons learned through that have probably made him the player that he is now,” he said.

“Sometimes those setbacks that you don’t have as a 17 or 18-year-old, if you’re able to get through, you don’t build that layer of resilience throughout your career.

“I think that’s no doubt helped him and formed him into the player he is now.”

And, in the ultimate irony, Wardman believes the advice Martin received during his time at West Coast proved the catalyst for him seizing the opportunity to excel as a Bomber.

“It was more about to pick the brains of those AFL guys he was going to train around,” Wardman said.

“Jack Darling, Josh Kennedy at that stage, around his forward craft and I suppose he got a few lessons from Jeremy McGovern at training. But I think those things really helped give him some belief that he was capable.”

Originally published as Nic Martin’s rise from draft snub to Essendon star