Dust in time: Superstar hits track in skinsRiley Beveridge
afl.com.au
Sep 20, 2018 12:37PMRICHMOND superstar Dustin Martin appears a certain starter for Friday night's crucial preliminary final against Collingwood, completing the club's final training session with ease.
The reigning Brownlow Medal winner trained unimpeded with the main group on Thursday, showing no signs of the severe cork that had restricted his schedule last week.
Although it was only a light session that lasted around 20 minutes at Punt Road, Martin completed every drill to allay concerns that have lingered regarding his fitness.
The gun Tiger was clad in leggings throughout the session, making it difficult to decipher whether he was wearing any protective strapping on his injured leg.
However, he appeared undeterred playing through the midfield in a full-ground circle work drill, before joining captain Trent Cotchin for skills practice later in the morning.
"I haven't had a mental check on whether he's worn skins before," teammate Shane Edwards joked with reporters after the short session.
"I think he's done it every now and then. I'll make sure I look from now on.
"I don't even think he even knows what's going on. He'll be going out there with a fresh mind and he'll be ready.
"He's a big boy. It'll be the same as usual, whether he's wearing skins or not."
Martin had been limited during Richmond's fortnight off, having suffered a badly corked thigh that bled down to his knee during the side's qualifying final victory over Hawthorn.
The Tigers revealed earlier this week they considered a medical procedure to drain the area, but insisted they were confident Martin would be fully fit for Friday night's match.
Brandon Ellis and Dan Butler were also among the main group that trained in front of a crowd of around 1000 people on Thursday, as the pair aim to reclaim their spots in the side.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-09-20/dust-in-time-superstar-martin-hits-the-track
