Dustin Martin [merged]

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Lol its his boots that are at fault not the player.

He has layed one tackle in two games and the defensive side of his game is almost  non existent.
He was subbed out for a good reason.

Its fine when he is really impacting games but when hes not well .

Feel for the kids not allowed to play their natural games and have to be defensively great to get a game but it doesn't apply to others.

I agree with the post but he’s a once a generation player who I think offensively is worth the risk.

[Tigeritis™©®]

I thought his defensive pressure was much better against the Blue Cheats than it was against the Crow cheats.   

If his role is predominantly forward, he must lead the way with the defensive pressure / it's not unheard of for player roles to chance late in their  careers. KB did it in 1980. I think he's more than capable.

[Francois Jackson]

Lol its his boots that are at fault not the player.

He has layed one tackle in two games and the defensive side of his game is almost  non existent.
He was subbed out for a good reason.

Its fine when he is really impacting games but when hes not well .

Feel for the kids not allowed to play their natural games and have to be defensively great to get a game but it doesn't apply to others.

I agree with the post but he’s a once a generation player who I think offensively is worth the risk.

Agree with this, though he is a shadow of his former self since that Sydney game IMO

He is like a completely different player in my book, which i cant understand when you have the likes of danger pendlebury still amongst it.

He either wants to apply pressure and do the team thing or make way for others at some stage. No excuses for not being fit and IMV he seems unfit and slower, though he isnt the only one.

[TigerLand]

I think we are being really hard on Dusty.

A few key things.
1- Teams have put a mountain of work in learning how to tackle someone who uses a stiff arm. He constantly is tackled now. It wasn't a battle of strength it was a combo of strength, power and technique imbalance. Opponents have bridges the gap in learning how to tackle and he's lost an edge he had and used to dominate.
2- His purpose was clear, he loves winning but also loved putting on a show knowing his Dad was watching in NZ. Every interview he'd say Hi Dad after the game. Poor bugger that's lost that connection and extra sense of purpose in playing for his Dad.
3- Hes not been the same physically since the kidney injury. Pretty serious.

Combine all of that and the fact he's now 31, let's give him a bit more patience.

[lamington]

also hamstrings. i don't want his hamstrings blowing up in round 2 for attempting a run down tackle when there's a niggle.

he was never the fastest player and hence he had to develop the don't argue when players try and run him down with a tackle.

I actually legit think he's not fast enough to run and chase like the Riolis or even more seasoned players like KMac for example and that lack of speed makes him appear lazy. In the trenches getting contested ball I think that's where he an work defensively i.e. shepherding, halving contests, winning ground balls etc

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Dusty is now in his third year of having a diminished influence.
Sure, it’s been driven by injury and personal issues but that length of time without real impact warrants feedback if that’s where supporters decide they want to make comment.

I don’t agree as he’s still the best player I’ve seen pull on tiger colours ever.
I can’t forget that but I can forgive him these last couple of years.

I’d love him to bounce back and not diminish his legacy to others but that is starting to look less likely.

[Andyy]

Best peak years I've ever seen in an RFC jumper, and subsequently the best accolades, but arguably other players have had better form over longer periods or more consistently good years - including Jack, Rance and Richo.

[Tiger Khosh]

Didn’t dusty finish top5 or top10 in the b&f for a solid 10+ years from his debut season onwards? Don’t agree with him not having a long peak it’s just the peak of his peak was so unbelievable that it couldn’t be sustained for long.

JackR has been struggling since 2019 which puts him around the same age Dusty is now. Rance didn’t play beyond 29 years old.

It’s literally round 3 and people are already writing off his season. Bit of an early crow I reckon.

[the claw]

Lol i don't see anyone writing him off. But people are rightly questioning his defensive ability especially when such a high bar in this areas is used to keep kids out of the team.

Its simple like Cotchin just play him in his normal role's which is mostly mid with rotations thru the fwd line.

Thats not Cumberlands role or Clarkes it is Boltons and should be Sonsies as well.

They are trying to give these old blokes new roles and it is literally at the expense of kids.
Both Dusty and Trent are still good enough to DEMAND  A GAME as mids alone.
We are missing the chance to get games into Clarke Sonsie Cumberland by playing them thru the fwd half or even on a wing.

[MintOnLamb]

Lol i don't see anyone writing him off. But people are rightly questioning his defensive ability especially when such a high bar in this areas is used to keep kids out of the team.

Its simple like Cotchin just play him in his normal role's which is mostly mid with rotations thru the fwd line.

Thats not Cumberlands role or Clarkes it is Boltons and should be Sonsies as well.

They are trying to give these old blokes new roles and it is literally at the expense of kids.
Both Dusty and Trent are still good enough to DEMAND  A GAME as mids alone.
We are missing the chance to get games into Clarke Sonsie Cumberland by playing them thru the fwd half or even on a wing.

👏👏👏

[one-eyed]

Dimma in his presser said Dusty would've played if we had an extra day or two. "Not a conservative approach but the right approach". This early in the season, better to take the week off with the bank of games we've got coming up rather than risk forcing it and him ending up missing weeks (same with Hopper).

[Buddysucks]

I’ll play devils advocate here: I know the great man has had a serious injury and a lot of personal issues to deal with over the last few years. A lot to cope with for even the normal person. But… he just doesn’t ever look match fit these days, and more concerning for me is that he seems disinterested / distracted. He is in and out of action during games and in and out of the line-up for very very ambiguous reasons.

He hasn’t had a lot of game miles in his legs for a few years and he is ONLY 31. He is still getting $1m+ annual  salary to boot.

[georgies31]

Something doesn't sit right with me this situation we herd he was flying preseason.

[WilliamPowell]

I’ll play devils advocate here: I know the great man has had a serious injury and a lot of personal issues to deal with over the last few years. A lot to cope with for even the normal person. But… he just doesn’t ever look match fit these days, and more concerning for me is that he seems disinterested / distracted. He is in and out of action during games and in and out of the line-up for very very ambiguous reasons.

He hasn’t had a lot of game miles in his legs for a few years and he is ONLY 31. He is still getting $1m+ annual  salary to boot.

Have to say I don't agree with any of your observations

I reckon it is the fittest he's looked since 2020. Though I do think it has been a bit of a balancing act in getting his conditioning right since the kidney injury. In that he lost so much weight after that I do wonder how do you manage how much he puts back on as he gets older

As for being disinterested having watched him closely in our 2 games so far and especially last week in Adelaide he looked bloody switched on to me. What stood out to me was his leadership around the likes of MJ and Samson. He was always speaking to them, encouraging them

Finally, whether we agree or not he is playing mainly as a forward now so he isn't going to be in the action like he used to. Personally,  would love to see him the middle a bit more but he is a team first player and if they want forward of centre, then that's what he will do

[Assange Tiger 😎]

Yeah, I'd agree he's very much looked switched on and up for a game so far this year