Dustin Martin was back to his best on Saturday, leading his team to a win against Collingwood.
What happened?
He began the 2021 season being talked about in the same breath as Matthews, Carey and Ablett, but finished it on the boundary line at the Gabba, in child’s pose, being misdiagnosed by the physicians at Channel 7.
He spent a week in hospital, subsisting on bananas, dates and YouTube clips, and lost about two stone.
Why it matters for Dustin Martin
By year’s end, he was mourning his dad, and at 30, there was a very real chance he was lost to football.
The gossip columnists licked their chops, but the club, and football fans generally, gave him space.
What comes next?
He owed the game nothing, but on Saturday, he was back, and as always, he didn’t exactly present like a man whose knees were knocking.
There was a certain insouciance, a hint of menace, as he took to the field against Collingwood.
The player of the match was Tom Lynch, but it was Dusty’s day, and following his first goal, after his teammates had finally demobbed, he slapped the black tape on his lower deltoid.
Dusty is loathe to let us in, but his talent, and even his grief, were on full display, and you have to strain a bit harder to see the doubt, but it’s there, apparently.
As hard as it is to believe, when Dusty swaggers down to the goal-square, he’s muttering bromides to himself, which gives hope to the rest of us, and it’s probably scant consolation for the poor bloke manning him.
The MCG was heaving on a Saturday afternoon, and Dusty stood a little more erect, step out of my way, young upstarts, this is my moment, my arena, my competition, and every time Collingwood threatened, he was there to shut them down.
On Saturday, Dustin Martin showed why he is one of the best players in the game, with a performance that will be remembered for a long time, and as he walked off the field, he knew he still had it, and that’s all that mattered.