Slim Dusty out of tune ahead of Richmond’s blockbuster clash against West Coast at Optus StadiumPerthNow
20 May 2018WEST Coast have 40 reasons to worry about Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin ahead of today’s top-of-the-table clash at Optus Stadium.
The Richmond superstar had 40 touches, 15 clearances and two goals the last time the teams met in round three last season.
They are numbers that are enough to give coach Adam Simpson a headache, if not send a shiver down his spine.
However respected analyst David King says the Eagles should adopt a wait and see approach with Martin today.
The tattoo-covered dynamo was held to just 16 possessions by North Melbourne tagger Ben Jacobs last weekend, prompting a call from his coach Damien Hardwick for greater protection for him because he was a “ball player”.
Now spending more time forward, Martin is averaging 24 disposals per game in 2018, down from 30 last season.
King, who will be part of Fox Footy’s broadcast team for today’s blockbuster, nominated Elliot Yeo as Martin’s ideal match-up but said there was no need to start with a hard tag.
“Dusty’s not in the form of last year. He’s going at about 70 per cent of last year. It’s still a really good level of footy, but it hasn’t quite been that game separating burst that he’s been able to put to teams over the last few weeks,” he said.
“He’s just ticking along. He’s not really setting the world on fire.”
Heat maps from Champion Data reveal Martin has had just one disposal inside Richmond’s defensive 50m arc this season, underlining the Tigers’ plan to get their match-winner forward of the ball.
He has won 72 per cent of his possessions in the attacking half of the ground this season, which is up from 63 per cent in his Brownlow year.
King said the Eagles shouldn’t begin the game being too Martin conscious. “I don’t think they need to be. I think West Coast will just concentrate on what West Coast do,” the dual North Melbourne premiership star said.
“I mean they’re a very strong team that can clearly score and score quickly. I just think that they’ll continue to do what they’ve done and just assess in-game whether that’s good enough to be beating Richmond or they need to make change.
“See how the game starts, see what the scoreboard says, see what Dustin Martin’s doing. And if there’s a problem there, put the glove on.”
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