Dustin Martin caps incredible 2017 by winning second Jack Dyer Medal at Richmond best and fairest
AND with that, he’s done it all. Richmond champ Dustin Martin capped the ultimate AFL season after being crowned the Tigers’ best and fairest as the premiers’ party rolled on.
Richmond
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DUSTIN Martin has sealed his golden season with back-to-back Jack Dyer Medals on a night where premiership captain Trent Cotchin revealed he was one bad year away from quitting as skipper.
Richmond’s match committee awarded the devastating midfielder a perfect score of five votes for his Norm Smith Medal-winning performance in Saturday’s Grand Final.
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That sealed a nine-vote victory over All-Australian captain Alex Rance with Kane Lambert’s supreme consistency barging him into the top three in the night’s biggest surprise.
The VFL recruit ranked No.2 at the Tigers for goal assists and tackles this year in just his third AFL season.
Lambert, 25, was overlooked in five national drafts despite winning the VFL Rising Star at Carlton’s VFL team and then dominating for Williamstown.
Martin’s 22 contested possessions on Saturday were the second-most recorded in a Grand Final – one shy of 2003 Norm Smith winner Simon Black (Brisbane Lions).
“I just loved getting out there with all the boys and playing footy. You just don’t have to think about all the other crap in your life for those two hours, you just get out there and do what I’ve loved doing since I was five or six,” Martin said on Monday night.
Asked how he would party after a premiership, Martin said: “The funny thing is, I probably carry on like this every off-season. So this won’t be too much different – but it’s going to be extra special”.
Rance finished runner-up for the second season in a row in front of a sold out Crown Palladium still celebrating the club’s first flag since 1980 and 11th overall.
Premiership captain Cotchin and stingy defender Dylan Grimes, fresh from stopping Adelaide star Eddie Betts, rounded out the top five.
Cotchin revealed he would’ve walked away from his leadership post if 2017 was another bust.
“I remember sitting with my wife (Brooke) after last year and telling her, ‘I’ll give this captaincy thing one more year’,” Cotchin said on Monday night.
“And if it doesn’t go well or if we bomb or we don’t get it right we are going to see if someone else can do the job.
“It’s funny how fickle life can be.”
This year Cotchin has been lauded as one of the game’s great leaders, his reputation rising with an inspirational September.
Martin polled maximum best-and-fairest votes in seven games, including the qualifying final thrashing of Geelong and the Grand Final.
The premiership superstar’s three dominant finals followed his agonising decision to sacrifice nearly $2 million and re-sign at the Tigers instead of crossing to North Melbourne.
Martin, 26, inked a seven-year deal worth $8.75 million to stay at Punt Rd and is now expected to fly overseas on holidays.
Coach Damien Hardwick labelled the surprise premiership “absolutely remarkable” on Monday night.
“(This club) achieved something built on care and unity unlike anything I’ve seen in football in my time before,” Hardwick said.
Martin has finished on the podium in Richmond’s past four best-and-fairests. He was runner-up in 2013 and 2015, placed third in 2014 and has now won the past two.
The explosive onballer’s 2017 honours include the Brownlow Medal, Norm Smith Medal, AFL Coach’s Player of the Year, Leigh Matthews Trophy, Gary Ayres Award for best finals player, All-Australian selection and now a second best-and-fairest.
Martin won the Brownlow with a record 36 votes and record 11 best-on-grounds. He was ranked No.1 in the AFL for inside 50s, centre clearances, score involvements and No.2 for contested possessions and metres gained this year.
The kid from Castlemaine became just the seventh player in VFL-AFL history to own the Brownlow and the Norm Smith and the first to win both in the same season.
He is now one of 26 players to win multiple Jack Dyer Medals and the first to go back-to-back since Cotchin in 2011-12.
Martin has reserved a patch of skin on his left quad for a Tigers premiership tattoo.
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