Seventeen AFL clubs are faced with a scary prospect after Richmond completed their pre-season series – Dustin Martin and the reigning premiers can get even better.
The Brownlow Medal winner was at his bullocking best on Wednesday night, as the Tigers rode their vaunted manic pressure to a 19.14 (128) to 8.10 (58) win over North Melbourne at Ikon Park.
The impressive performance capped an ominous pre-season series for Damien Hardwick’s men, who belted Essendon by 87 points in their other warm-up match.
Five months after the Tigers thumped Adelaide in the grand final, Hardwick’s men have picked up where they left off, but their coach wants more.
“It’s been ok … there’s obviously areas where we’d like to improve,” Hardwick said of his side’s pre-season series.
“I thought our ball use inside 50 – I know we kicked a fair few goals tonight – but I thought it was still a little bit scratchy at various stages.
“But I thought our pressure in and around the contest was pretty good and got better towards the last quarter.
“We’ve got some areas of our game that we can certainly improve. I think the scoreboard indicates that we’re going ok, but we’re not going as well as we’d like.”
Martin, who played just over three quarters, finished with 22 possessions and was involved in several of his side’s goals, with Shane Edwards (23 touches) and Jayden Short (25) also important.
Kane Lambert (24 disposals) led the way up forward with four goals, rampant Richmond finishing with 12 goal kickers.
After his record-breaking 2017 season, the thought of Martin taking his game to a new level is enough keep opposition midfielders awake at night.
“There’s areas of his game where he’ll try to get better,” Hardwick said.
“Still one area that I haven’t seen is high marking.
“I’m not sure whether we ever are going to see that but I’ll put it on him this year.
“But he’s a really good player, he’s a quality player … and those guys you just enjoy watching – you wind him up and let him go.”
The Tigers will unfurl their premiership flag in round one when they host Carlton at the MCG on Thursday, March 22.
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