Dustin Martin ready to roar for Richmond as he bonds with a tiger
Richmond superstar Dustin Martin has revealed he struggled with motivation last year after experiencing extraordinary personal success on the footy field in 2017.
Fiona Byrne
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Richmond superstar Dustin Martin struggled with motivation last year but says he is “ready to attack” 2019 after learning a lot about himself.
Martin felt “weird” last year after a blockbuster 2017, which included winning the premiership and the Brownlow Medal.
“You live and you learn,” Martin said, as he revealed his new campaign for Bonds.
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“You spend your whole life trying to achieve all your dreams and I was fortunate enough to win the premiership and have some individual success.
“2018 was a weird feeling (for me). Early in the year. I was like, ‘I don’t know what is next’.”
Martin said he had realised what was truly important in life.
“You think you can win all these things and it is going to make you happy, but the reality is the things that make you happy are your friends and your family and all those kind of things.
“Don’t get me wrong, it is cool to win those things, but it does not have a lot of meaning. “Relationships with my friends and family is what you realise are the most important.
“I am always a pretty motivated person, but subconsciously you might kind of go through the motions a little bit.”
Martin made the comments as he revealed his new — and most dangerous — campaign for Bonds in which he faces off, wearing only jungle print undies, with a fully grown Tiger.
“Not many people can say they stood next to a tiger in their undies,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to get out of there unscathed.”
The Tigers champion spent much of the AFL off-season travelling, starting with a Las Vegas adventure with former Collingwood star Dane Swan, followed by a trip with mates to South America.
“I spent some time in Colombia, then New Zealand with Dad, and I’ve just been to Bali over Christmas. I trained with a local side the Bali Geckos.
The 27-year-old said he was keen to do his bit for the Tigers in 2019 and felt fighting fit.
“Team success is number one for me and I just want to do my bit for the side and play consistent footy at a high level for the season and help my teammates around me,’’ he said.
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