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Danger vs Dusty: The battle to be the best is down to two

Dustin Martin is on fire at the moment and is a hot property. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
7th June, 2017
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Two men stake a claim to being the best AFL player in the land: Patrick Dangerfield and Dustin Martin.

Danger
Dustin Martin is a red-hot commodity but he isn’t the best player in the AFL – that title still belongs to the blue-chip Geelong star.

When was the last time anyone won a Brownlow Medal and then backed it up as well as Dangerfield has?

With half a season to go, there’s a strong argument it hasn’t been done since Robert Harvey went back-to-back in 1997-98.

After setting an impossibly high standard with his record 35 Brownlow votes last season, Dangerfield has shown no signs of slowing down.

Virtually unstoppable in the midfield, he has also booted 22 goals to put him on track for a career-best season tally.

Make no mistake, Joel Selwood remains the heart and soul of the Cats and will drain plenty of votes from the other half of the famed Danger-wood pairing.

But Dangerfield’s raw power, explosiveness and ability to lift in big moments can’t be denied.

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Save perhaps for Sydney’s Lance Franklin, no one is as capable of taking a game by the scruff of the neck as the Geelong superstar.

Just ask Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley, who could only watch as Dangerfield gathered the ball in heavy traffic and kicked truly – from a tight angle, on his non-preferred foot – to drive a dagger into the Power’s heart in round 10.

While stats don’t tell the whole picture, Dangerfield is on top in almost every key category this season, including contested possessions, clearances, goals and tackles.

And while both have copped criticism in the past for their ball use, Danger also has the better disposal efficiency – 67 per cent compared to Dusty’s 61.5.

With two fewer seasons under his belt than 27-year-old Dangerfield, there’s still plenty of time for Martin to seize the mantle. Just not yet.

Dusty
Martin finished third in the Brownlow Medal last year, was named in the All-Australian team and won his first club best and fairest – setting career highs for disposals, clearances and contested possessions along the way.

Rather than rest on his laurels, Martin has gone to a whole new level in 2017 – so much so that a very good case can be made that the pride of Moggs Creek has been superceded as the AFL’s best player.

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He’s quick, he’s evasive, he’s unbelievably strong (witness the famed fend-off) and his field kicking has improved out of sight.

And he’s essentially untaggable, with coach Damien Hardwick having the luxury of shifting Martin to the goalsquare if an opposing mid tries to lock down on him.

He has kicked 16 majors so far in 2017 – and no-one would be surprised if he betters his previous best haul of 33.

The powerhouse Tiger has declared he’s not going to enter into new contract talks until season’s end.

Essentially Martin has backed himself to have a career-best year, giving him and manager Ralph Carr the strongest possible bargaining hand.

So far, it’s proved to be an inspired decision. Rather than being hampered by the pressure to perform, he’s thrived in the spotlight.

The most likely scenario is that Martin will re-sign with the Tigers on a much-improved deal.

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Something like $5.5 million over five years would be in the ballpark, although he could demand even more elsewhere.

It’s quite conceivable that Martin will have polled Brownlow votes in six of the Tigers’ seven wins in the opening half of the season, along with a couple of the losses.

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