PERHAPS the most amazing thing about the impressive start Dustin Martin has made to his AFL career is how the inimitable Richmond midfielder's personal characteristics off the field are in such contrast to his qualities on it. Well, at least most of them.
"I don't really care about what other people think," he said last week when we met at Richmond's ME Bank Centre. "It's not something I think about too much."
It's an attitude reflected in his football. He isn't intimidated by anyone, nor easily flustered or concerned by how he's viewed.
Martin's football features some of the best elements of the Australian game - aggression, skill, strength and class - flowing through it, but his style is inconsistent with his personality.
The sharp haircut - it's shaved at the front and sides and spiked at back - and the numerous tattoos, particularly the two on his neck, would give one the impression of Martin being an extrovert.
As would the way he has come into an AFL club, finishing fourth in Richmond's best and fairest in his first season, and quickly becoming one of the Tigers' most important players.
However, the 19-year-old is a series of contradictions rolled into one brilliant, bustling and damaging footballer: a walking, barely-talking, 'don't-arguing' star of the competition, who is as reserved off the field as he is assertive on it.
When the AFL Record met Martin, wearing a Tigers training singlet, striped tracksuit pants and a pair of thongs, he is the man of the moment.
The football world was abuzz with Martin after his 33-possession and four-goal game against North Melbourne. (He followed up with 35 touches and one goal against the Brisbane Lions last week.) Martin hardly seems interested in all the fuss, economical in his words as he plays down the hype.
He gives a typical teenager's shrug of the shoulders, and half-smile when the fanfare is brought up. It's not something that worries Martin. Not much does.
In football terms, he's also something of a new-age sensation. In the modern game of athleticism, Martin is a pure footballer who has played his first 27 games mostly on instinct. His enthusiasm for the game has been integral.
"I've always loved footy," Martin says. "I started playing when I was six or seven and I was always out in the backyard kicking the footy. I just loved it.
"I started playing under-10s when I was about that age and they wouldn’t let me play because I was too young. I had to sit out a year, but I’ve always enjoyed playing," he says.
Martin's progression to emerging AFL star has not been without hurdles.
Read the full story in the round seven edition of the AFL Record, available at all grounds.
