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Martin on track to emulate legendary finals deeds

Brisbane ruckman Stefan Martin’s season is beginning to resemble that of a club legend and it augurs well for the Lions’s title hopes.

Lions ruckman Stef Martin has regained peak fitness at an opportune time for Brisbane Picture: Jono Searle.
Lions ruckman Stef Martin has regained peak fitness at an opportune time for Brisbane Picture: Jono Searle.

As Stefan Martin was set to return to football last month after an injury-hit season, he was reminded of the folklore of Lions ruckman in finals matches.

Former Brisbane ruckman Clark Keating became known as the September specialist after his deeds in 2002 and 2003.

The three-time premiership ruckman missed significant chunks of both seasons but returned to star through the finals campaigns, saving his best for the deciders against Collingwood in both years.

Martin, who has endured knee and back injuries this season but was able to return for the final round of the home-and-away season, knows of Keating’s feats.

“I was aware of it. History has repeated itself a little bit, I guess, but it was definitely not the intention,” he told The Australian.

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“I would much have preferred to play the whole year. I guess it is pretty funny like that.”

When Martin tore his posterior cruciate ligament in the opening round, there were doubts as to whether he would play another game in 2020.

The season suspension due to COVID-19 ultimately worked in his favour. He spent six weeks with his right knee in a brace but was able to return in time for the round 2 triumph over the Dockers.

But a few weeks later the 33-year-old felt pain in his back during the Lions stay in Sydney in July.

On returning to Queensland, Martin was diagnosed with stress fractures, which cast doubt on his fitness for the finals series.

But he has been able to overcome the injury and Brisbane’s defeat of Richmond last Friday was Martin’s first finals win in a 189-game career that began with Melbourne in 2008.

Brisbane’s 2015 best-and-fairest winner said his body is thriving as he prepares for a preliminary final at the Gabba next Saturday against either Geelong or Collingwood.

“I feel good. The body has finally come good and it was really good timing to be able to play a game and then have a bye leading into finals. It worked out well for me,” he said.

His rucking partner Oscar McInerney is delighted his mentor has returned to the fold and has no doubt his presence is a boost to the Lions hopes of claiming their first premiership since 2003.

“I have learned so much from him. In all the games we played, I continue to learn from him. It is such a bonus to have him out on the ground, to speak to him at quarter-time, during breaks,” McInerney said.

“I guess because we are quite different in terms of ruck technique and ruck craft. He is so strong, whereas I have long, lanky arms. He has great craft and the ability to hold down his position. I think it can work to our advantage.

“We are really starting to build some solid synergy together and I am just over the moon to have him back. He has straight away had an impact.”

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has no doubt about the value of the partnership to the Lions.

“I’ve felt like over the past two years we’ve played our best football when the two of those guys are in the team,” he said.

Martin, who has been with Brisbane since 2013, is delighted by the progression the Lions have made in recent seasons under Fagan.

But this is not simply because of his own satisfaction.

Martin, who is “chipping away at a law degree”, is well aware of the loyalty thousands of Brisbane fans showed when the club was struggling.

He said the level of interest and optimism had picked up significantly as the wins became more regular, with Brisbane recently announcing its second-highest membership ever.

But those he feels most pleased for are the fans who continued to trek to the Gabba, or come to club days at the Brunswick St Oval in Fitzroy, when the Lions were getting hammered.

“The most clear part is the last two years when we have had success. You can feel the growth at grassroots level,” he said.

“You can feel non-traditional supporters becoming quite staunch supporters. The last two years, I have probably noticed it the most.

“But you have to give some recognition to those ones who stuck with us through the hard years, because that can’t have been easy.

“An empty Gabba, with those fans still coming along, expecting us to get flogged, it was a really long cycle for us, I think, but the obvious thing is that with the last two years, with success, it is becoming a little bit more exciting.”

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/martin-on-track-to-emulate-legendary-finals-deeds/news-story/bc46cf5df25142da79f2d803fc565ea5