AFL commentary box goes berserk as Dustin Martin silences critics
Wild scenes broke out in an AFL commentary box as a footy great went berserk with an overt act towards critics.
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Dustin Martin turned back the clock in Richmond’s narrow loss to Essendon on Saturday night and no one was happier to see Dusty at his best than Dale Thomas.
Martin was one of Richmond’s best, finishing with 23 disposals and three goals in the Tigers’ 12-point loss to the Bombers at the MCG.
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Richmond started well and Martin produced a moment of vintage Dusty brilliance early in the first quarter when he broke a tackle and curled in a snap from the junction of the 50m arc and the boundary line.
Martin celebrated the goal and as witnessed in footage shared on social media, the Triple M commentary box erupted.
“He winds back the clock and reminds everybody at the MCG how bloody good he is. And he’s still got plenty left in the tank,” Leigh Montagna said in commentary.
Thomas went berserk, getting up from his chair and signalling ‘up yours’ before vigorously flipping the bird with both hands to all and sundry around the ground and in the neighbouring commentary boxes.
“That’s why, when you line up and you pile into champions and you want to be the first to cut them down,” Thomas said.
“And they come out here on the biggest of stages.
“The (goal) umpire had two fingers out, he had two of them up. See ya later, shove a bit of that in your pipe and smoke it”.
Earlier this week, Thomas said it was “weak” to criticise Martin for any sign of form slump at the age of 32.
“When you get older, you’re not going to be as good as you once were,” he said.
“The perception is that he still should be winning games for the football club. If you’re going to be criticising blokes, criticise the blokes who should have taken his spot and fulfilled the potential.
“If you’re going to have a go at anyone, have a go at a (Shai) Bolton or whatever. Skip the champion, that’s the easy answer because it gets clout because of how good they’ve been.
“I think it’s a weak process trying to clip blokes on the way out rather than celebrate them.”
It comes as Martin approaches his 300-game milestone, currently sitting on 298 AFL matches.
According to reports, the Tigers have approved plans to have Martin rested from upcoming games in order to have his milestone match played at the MCG in Round 14, rather than interstate.
Martin will reportedly not hold a press conference nor do any media interviews in the lead into his major milestone, however he has agreed to be in a photo with Richmond’s other 300-gamers — Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards, Kevin Bartlett and Francis Bourke.
The tripe premiership winner and three-time Norm Smith Medallist is out of contract at the end of this season, and it’s unclear if he will play on next year on a less lucrative deal at Richmond or reunite with Damien Hardwick on the Gold Coast.
Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd has made a public plea for Richmond fans to turn up in droves to celebrate Martin when he hits 300.
Lloyd said it has been “sad” to see Martin’s year unfolding as it has.
The Tigers have not won any of the eight games Martin has featured in this season.
“Rather than celebrating what is to come, he’s just been under siege, more so than I’ve ever seen in his career before,” Lloyd said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
“He looks disinterested. Is he working hard enough?”
Lloyd went on to say: “This is a guy that in three weeks’ time, we should be celebrating him like Scott Pendlebury. Because Scott is contributing as great as we’ve seen.
“I think it’s really sad.”
Originally published as AFL commentary box goes berserk as Dustin Martin silences critics
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