Dustin Martin has announced his immediate retirement from the AFL after an injury-affected end to his career at Richmond.
The 33-year-old reached his 300th game in June and put persistent rumours of a swift exit to bed when he lined up for the Tigers in their next match but a back complaint ended his day at half-time.
The lingering concern and a trip to New Zealand then sparked doubts about whether he would return to the field, with Saturday’s defeat to North Melbourne becoming his 302nd and final game.
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He will now leave the spotlight as a bona fide legend of the modern era.
“It is hard to put into words what the Richmond Football Club means to me, I love this place so much,” Martin said in a statement.
“I will be forever grateful for the love and the support I have received from the people here.
“To my teammates, the brotherhood that we all share is what I value most as well as the bond with the staff and coaches… thank you to all of you.
“To my family and friends thank you for your unconditional love and support.
“To the Tiger Army, I have always felt so loved and supported throughout my career and for that I will be forever grateful. The memories that we have created together will live with me forever. Thank you.”
Arguably the biggest of big-game players, Martin won the Norm Smith Medal in all three premierships during the Tigers’ era of dominance from 2017-20.
“So much has been said about Dustin’s impact on our club and the competition, but more than anything, and put simply, I think it is the joy that he gave the Tiger Army and those around him that might mean the most,” Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said.
“Three premierships and best on ground in each of them will always be his legend, and rightly, it, along with his unique aura, will be what he is best remembered for.
“But I think Dustin would be most proud of what he was able to achieve playing for a team… for our team — and the magnificent role he was able to play within that system, which let him be every bit the footballing genius that he was always destined to be.
“That genius was most evident when the stakes were at their highest, when the crowd was at its loudest, when all eyes were on him, and when the moments needed a hero.
“Dustin did it his way, and we are all just so lucky to have been Richmond people during his era of dominance. So, all I can say on behalf of everyone associated with our great club is thank you to an icon. To our icon.”
One of the last men standing from those teams as Richmond’s rebuild got off to an injury-ravaged start this year, he was the centre of attention at the MCG for his 300th game in Round 14.
Martin kicked the first goal and said he was left feeling “a little bit numb” when most of the extraordinary 92,311 crowd stayed after the full-time siren to celebrate the legend.
“It’s amazing. A disappointing result for the club. But I love the Tiger army so much, I love the club so much, it means the absolute world to me, all the love I’ve received this week,” he told his ex-teammate Jack Riewoldt in the middle of the MCG.
“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it.”
Martin, the No.3 pick in the 2009 draft, quickly stamped himself as a star despite battling ongoing concerns around his professionalism and off-field behaviour.
In 2014 Martin flirted with leaving Richmond, famously spotted touring GWS Giants headquarters, but opted to stay, a decision that paid dividends as he came into his own.
He became a crucial piece of the Tigers’ finals tilts in that period and his All Australian performances during the team’s 2016 struggle — when everyone from coach Damien Hardwick down was at risk — set the stage for what was to come.
Martin dominated the 2017 season from the get-go and the tone for the finals was assured with a barnstorming performance in the qualifying final win over Geelong.
He was the hero of Richmond’s drought-breaking grand final triumph, 29 touches and two goals — one as the Tigers rushed into the lead, the other becoming their last of the day — sealing his first Norm Smith Medal.
Famously shy in public and largely eschewing the media, save for occasional post-game interviews and the many winner’s speeches he enjoyed, he won over the room opening up to Bruce McAvaney after winning the 2017 Brownlow Medal days before that first flag.
“I was just a young bloke who liked to play up every now and then,” Martin said of the ‘chopsticks’ saga that became a flashpoint in his career.
“I’m sure Ralph (Carr, manager) and my old man were sick of it and the club too, probably, so they sat me down and told me to pull my head in or they won’t help me any more. Ever since then I think I’ve pulled my head in a little bit.”
Overwhelmed in the 2018 preliminary final when they seemed destined for back-to-back flags, and sitting out of the eight 14 rounds into 2019, the Tigers and Martin responded by saving their best for last.
They never lost another game and Martin kicked an astonishing 12 goals in three finals to lift the cup at the MCG for the final time.
The stories that followed added to the mystique around Martin’s personality.
Having said the second flag was “probably a bit better” than his first, he soaked it up to the extent that he left his car parked at the MCG while he celebrated.
He then went overseas — still with his car at the ground — and was spotted holidaying in the Maldives with none other than tennis legend Serena Williams and her billionaire husband Alexis Ohanian.
Back home, the Tigers’ premiership defence picked up after the COVID shutdown and a familiar rival emerged.
Throughout his peak Martin and Richmond were constantly up against Patrick Dangerfield — the 2016 Brownlow medallist who was ineligible in 2017 but finished just three votes behind Martin — and Geelong, a battle that reached its zenith with the 2020 grand final at the Gabba.
But again it was Martin who came out on top, kicking four goals from open play as the Tigers sealed their third premiership in four years.
“He was incredible. He’s a champion of our game and he was dominant,” Dangerfield said afterwards.
“That’s what the great players do and they perform when the stakes are at their highest and he’s done that so consistently over the last few years.”
Martin, who described the three Norm Smiths as an “added bonus” on top of the three flags, was highly emotional after kicking his last goal of the grand final.
“It was probably a bit too early to carry on,” he said.
“I’ve just got so much love for this club, it’s been a different year and I love all my teammates, all the coaching staff.
“I just want to give a quick shoutout to my old man in New Zealand, I know he’s watching. I love you heaps, dad.”
Martin’s success came amid turmoil after his father Shane was deported from Australia to New Zealand in 2016.
Before he made it as a footballer Martin quit school at the age of 14 and was put to work when he moved in with his dad, with the pair remaining close until Shane’s sudden death in 2021.
“He means the world to me. He’s just always been my support,” he said on Brownlow night in 2017.
“I’m sure he’s watching over in Auckland, so hi dad. Just a special father-son relationship.”
Their first reunion after COVID, according to then Tigers captain Trent Cotchin, brought “colour” back into the face of a “bright-eyed” Martin.
But the loss of his father sparked struggles for Martin that Cotchin has said continue to this day.
“He’s definitely capable of (playing on for years) — I just don’t know if, (given) the place he is in right now, whether he’s got the energy to do so,” Cotchin said on Talking Footy.
“It’s hard to comment too far on what he’s going through, but since his old man passed away, it’s been a challenge for Dusty.
“Probably getting himself right is the absolute priority, and I know that the club’s helping him with that.
“So, to put such a commitment on someone who needs to get himself at his best is a big call and going to be challenging.”
Dustin Martin’s incredible career
Born: 26 June 1991
Junior club: Castlemaine/Bendigo U18
AFL draft: Richmond at No.3 at the 2009 national draft
AFL debut: Round 1, 2010 v Carlton at the MCG
AFL games: 302 (163-4-135)
AFL goals: 338
Career averages: 24.2 disposals, 9.8 contested possessions, 1.1 goals, 4.7 inside 50s, 3.8 clearances
Brownlow Medal winner 2017 (36 votes, equal highest ever)
Brownlow votes as at end of 2023 season: 212, eighth all-time
Honours: Three-time premiership player (2017, 2019, 2020), three-time Norm Smith Medallist (2017, 2019, 2020), 2017 AFL Players Association MVP (Leigh Matthews Trophy), 2017 AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year, three-time Gary Ayres Award winner as best player in finals (2017, 2019, 2020), four-time All-Australian (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020), two-time Richmond best and fairest winner (2016, 2017), AFL Rising Star nominee (2010)