“He’s still like a child”: How Dusty has evolved into a “crucial figure” at RichmondBy Andrew Slevison
Sportsday SA
13 April 2020Shane Edwards has explained how Richmond teammate Dustin Martin maintains his love and zest for the game.
Martin has achieved plenty in his AFL career to date including two premierships, a Brownlow Medal and two Norm Smith Medals so he could be excused for perhaps going through the motions on occasion.
Prior to this current lockdown we are experiencing, which postponed the 2020 season after one round, ‘Dusty’ was just as excited as ever about his footy and Edwards has revealed how.
“In footy terms and the way he approaches the game, he’s still like a child,” he said on Sportsday SA.
“He just plays on instinct and he’s so excited to go out and train in the mornings. Melbourne winters, if you’re not wearing long sleeves it takes you a warm-up to actually get excited for training.
“He’s always excited. He gets everyone up on the track just from having a laugh and not taking it too seriously and that rubs off on everyone. He doesn’t take things too serious but he takes the serious things serious enough, if that makes sense.”
Edwards described how Martin's leadership style is one that has been welcomed by his peers in recent times.
“He knows when to switch on and he knows when to switch off,” he said of the star midfielder.
“We’ve never really had anyone at the club like that, that can lead by example and there’s a lot of guys that identify with that sort of leadership.
“He’s a massive influence at the club.
“Off the field as well as on the field. He’s evolved into a crucial figure.”
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to have footy on the back foot, Edwards gave some insight into how the club has been attempting to carry on as normal.
“We stay connected. We’re on the phone in our little groups and then our line meetings,” he added.
“We still have meetings and things like that over Zoom app so we can see everything.
“There’s no high-fives going on but we still feel we are pretty connected at the moment.”
And as for planning for a swift resumption once the May 31 restriction is lifted, Edwards said it’s all systems go until the Tigers hear otherwise.
He said further: “We are treating it like a little pre-season at the moment.
“Individually, of course, training as hard as we possibly can with what we’ve got.
“But we are making sure we stay switched on in case that call comes and reassess if it gets delayed.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/04/13/hes-still-like-a-child-how-dusty-has-evolved-into-a-crucial-figure-at/
