Better than he has ever been’: Martin, key Tigers on the mendBy Jon Pierik
The Age
October 26, 2021Richmond superstar Dustin Martin is close to full health and is among a handful of Tigers prime movers eying a strong pre-season.
Tigers’ senior football advisor Neil Balme said on Tuesday that Martin, Trent Cotchin, Shane Edwards, Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo were on the mend and will be ready to have the club “back in contention” next year.
Martin was left with a lacerated kidney after a collision against the Brisbane Lions in July. His season was prematurely over and he ultimately lost about 10 kilograms as he was put on a diet predominantly of fruit after surgery. However, he has resumed running in recent weeks and Balme said he regained some of the weight he had lost.
Martin, 30, has told physical performance chief Peter Burge that feels he is now in mint condition.
“I was talking to the doc about Dusty, and Dusty said he is better than he has ever been. He will be fantastic,” Balme said.
“We have no problems with his recovery, either. He is virtually 100 per cent now. He lost an enormous amount of weight. He will probably put a bit back on before he plays, more than likely, going to the gym. We are really excited about him.”
Martin, the 2017 Brownlow medallist and the only man to be a three-time Norm Smith medallist, is arguably the key piece to a Tigers’ revival. He is also a contender to be captain, as Cotchin has stood down.
The Tigers are enthused that ruckmen Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo can again work together. Soldo missed the entire 2021 campaign after rupturing his anterior cruciate and medial ligaments against Geelong on the eve of the 2020 finals. He has been training well, while Nankervis is on the mend after surgery on a fractured finger. He also had foot and knee issues late in the 2021 season.
The Tigers, who allowed Mabior Chol to head to the Gold Coast on a four-year deal, say Nankervis, contracted until the end of 2023, and Soldo, contracted until the end of 2024, can be an excellent one-two punch.
“It will be interesting to see what we can do with that, which will be good,” Balme said.
Veteran Shane Edwards, who has been troubled by an ankle impingement, has had surgery and has resumed running. Cotchin, who finished the season managing a posterior ligament issue, is also set for a strong pre-season, according to Balme.
The Tigers say senior assistant coach Adam Kingsley, who narrowly lost out to Michael Voss for the vacant Carlton role, will be as committed as ever, where he now will work alongside David Teague, the former Blues coach.
Injured and exhausted, the Tigers missed the finals this season, having been premiers three times over the four previous campaigns. But there is great optimism at Punt Road that they will remain firmly in premiership calculations.
They have snared former Kangaroo Robbie Tarrant to fill the key defensive post left by the retirement of premiership plank David Astbury, while they also have five selections in the top 30 of the November 24 national draft. They have selections No.7, 15, 26, 27 and 28 after a pick swap with Collingwood, although this could yet change.
“We have good draft picks, five under 30, and Robbie Tarrant will be helpful for us. Who knows but we think we will be contenders for sure,” Balme said.
“But we just need to get a few more fit blokes on the track. We just didn’t have enough last year. Sometimes that is just an excuse for poor performance, but it was a fact for us. There were times when we had almost no one in defence and no one in the midfield from the last week. It’s hard to recover from that.”
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/better-than-he-has-ever-been-martin-key-tigers-on-the-mend-20211026-p5934c.html
