Brownlow Medal 2017: Dustin Martin defeats Patrick Dangerfield in epic countSam Landsberger,
Herald Sun
26 September 2017ROWNLOW Medallist Dustin Martin says it was a relief to outpoll the ineligible Patrick Dangerfield as the brilliant Richmond midfielder’s season was recognised by the umpires with a record 36 votes.
The explosive midfielder has now been judged the best by the AFL’s coaches, players and umpires and he enters Saturday’s Grand Final against Adelaide as the game’s hottest superstar.
Martin joined Rory Sloane in the lead at Round 10 and was never headed from Round 11, registering a record 11 best-on-grounds to finish clear of Dangerfield (33 votes) and Hawthorn ball magnet Tom Mitchell (25).
“It would’ve been a bit awkward if (Dangerfield) beat me. It’s a bit of a relief, there’s no awkwardness,” Martin, 26, said.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said Martin had improved every season of his blistering career and the tattooed megastar reflected on a pivotal meeting held two years ago when he was told to curb some destructive behaviour.
Martin’s deported father Shane Martin and manager Ralph Carr told Martin he would soon run out of chances at the Tigers.
“I was just a young bloke who liked to play up every now and then,” Martin said.
“The club was fed up with it and so they sat me down and told me to pull my head in.”
Martin’s brother will fly into Melbourne from Barcelona to join his entourage for Saturday’s Grand Final against Adelaide.
Martin admitted how stressful his protracted contract negotiations became before he recommitted until 2024 for $8.75 million this month.
“It was certainly stressful. By the end of it I was sick of everyone talking about it, sick of my ugly face in the paper every day,” he said.
“But Ralph was great for me. I pretty much lived at his house towards the end because I was that stressed out, and I’m glad it got done.
“I was about 14 (when I left school). I just wasn’t a fan of school – probably should’ve stayed, because I worked a heap of crappy jobs after that.
“But here I am today.”
Martin sipped on a bottle of water as he delivered his acceptance speech. He will become Richmond’s first player to line up in a Grand Final in his Brownlow Medal season on Saturday.
Dangerfield opened a four-vote lead on Martin in Round 17 and again edged ahead after Round 21, following his one-game suspension for a dangerous tackle on Carlton’s Matthew Kreuzer.
But in the final round Martin eclipsed Dangerfield’s record of 35 votes set last year and the Geelong superstar then draped the medal around Martin’s neck as Richmond’s sixth Brownlow winner.
The Tigers will on Saturday become the first Grand Final team to field two Brownlow Medallists – Martin and captain Trent Cotchin – since Geelong’s Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartel in 2009.
Martin this month edged Dangerfield for the AFL Coach’s Champion Player of the Year, won the AFL Players’ Association MVP in a landslide count and appears certain to secure back-to-back Richmond best-and-fairests next week.
A premiership medal on Saturday would complete the perfect season and immortalise Martin as a Richmond legend forever.
The kid from Castlemaine has produced one of game’s best individual seasons in history following a testing two years.
Martin was briefly investigated by Victoria Police for allegedly threatening a woman with chopsticks in December 2015, after drinking at a music festival.
His father Shane Martin has since been deported to New Zealand and this season Martin navigated a media circus focussing on his protracted contract negotiations.
But Martin inked a seven-year deal worth $8.75 million – the richest in Punt Rd history – this month, before powering the Tigers into their first Grand Final since 1982.
Private meditation sessions and extra boxing sessions helped Martin stay cool and focussed on his footy this year.
Martin played every game this year, kicking a career-best 32 goals and averaging 30.3 disposals in the home-and-away season.
He won more than 30 disposals and kicked multiple goals in seven games – all victories.
Martin and date Sam Lloyd, a Tiger teammate, were among the latest arrivals at Crown Palladium last night.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/dustin-martin-wins-2017-brownlow-medal/news-story/26e951662596679941cdcffbc04f3d48
