Martin avoided the contract intrigue that surrounded him two years earlier by signing a new two-year contract extension in February 2015, eight months before his current deal was to expire.
Also prior to round 1, Martin was issued a challenged by coach Hardwick, to utilise his improved running capacity to play a majority midfield role as well as improving his contested ball winning and tackling in the mould of Essendon captain Jobe Watson.
He got off to a slow start however, kept to just 13 disposals thanks to a defensive tag by his Carlton opponents in round 1.
Martin returned to his dominant best by round 2 though, gathering 31 disposals against the Western Bulldogs.
He achieved the 30-plus mark on two more occasions in the next four weeks.
In round 10 Martin was best-afield in Richmond's fourth straight win, recording 34 disposals, five tackles and a goal against Fremantle at Domain Stadium.
After that match which marked the midpoint of the season, Martin was in significant form and featured in the top-five Richmond players in 12 of 15 major statistical categories including first place in both total disposals and total inside 50s.
He had also lifted his contested possession (9.67 per game), tackle (4.0) and disposal (26.56) counts to career-high levels.
He closed the season strongly too, kicking four lots of three goals over the remaining 12 home and away matches.
Richmond's 91-point victory over Collingwood in round 21 was marred by a crowd incident though in which Martin celebrated a goal by displaying an obscene finger gesture to members of the Collingwood cheer squad.
He was ordered by the AFL to pay a $2,000 fine for the action, the same fine that was suspended for a crowd gesture in 2013.
For the third straight season Martin's side qualified for the finals and for the third time were knocked out in an elimination final.
This time Martin recorded 21 disposals in the 17 point loss to North Melbourne at the MCG.

Martin topped the club for disposals and inside 50s in 2015 and again narrowly missed a club best and fairest, this time placing second behind defender Alex Rance.
He also placed seventh in the Brownlow Medal tally in 2015, the best result of any Tiger that year.
He posted a then-career best 21 votes, despite not polling for the first seven weeks of the season.
Martin was again nominated to the All-Australian squad of 40 players but would fail to make final selection for the second-straight season.
Martin avoided the contract intrigue that surrounded him two years earlier by signing a new two-year contract extension in February 2015, eight months before his current deal was to expire. Also prior to round 1, Martin was issued a challenged by coach Hardwick, to utilise his improved running capacity to play a majority midfield role as well as improving his contested ball winning and tackling in the mould of Essendon captain Jobe Watson. He got off to a slow start however, kept to just 13 disposals thanks to a defensive tag by his Carlton opponents in round 1. Martin returned to his dominant best by round 2 though, gathering 31 disposals against the Western Bulldogs. He achieved the 30-plus mark on two more occasions in the next four weeks. In round 10 Martin was best-afield in Richmond's fourth straight win, recording 34 disposals, five tackles and a goal against Fremantle at Domain Stadium. After that match which marked the midpoint of the season, Martin was in significant form and featured in the top-five Richmond players in 12 of 15 major statistical categories including first place in both total disposals and total inside 50s. He had also lifted his contested possession (9.67 per game), tackle (4.0) and disposal (26.56) counts to career-high levels. He closed the season strongly too, kicking four lots of three goals over the remaining 12 home and away matches. Richmond's 91-point victory over Collingwood in round 21 was marred by a crowd incident though in which Martin celebrated a goal by displaying an obscene finger gesture to members of the Collingwood cheer squad. He was ordered by the AFL to pay a $2,000 fine for the action, the same fine that was suspended for a crowd gesture in 2013. For the third straight season Martin's side qualified for the finals and for the third time were knocked out in an elimination final. This time Martin recorded 21 disposals in the 17 point loss to North Melbourne at the MCG.
Martin topped the club for disposals and inside 50s in 2015 and again narrowly missed a club best and fairest, this time placing second behind defender Alex Rance. He also placed seventh in the Brownlow Medal tally in 2015, the best result of any Tiger that year. He posted a then-career best 21 votes, despite not polling for the first seven weeks of the season. Martin was again nominated to the All-Australian squad of 40 players but would fail to make final selection for the second-straight season.
Dustin Martin