Martin returned to pre-season training in the first week of December 2019 and was labelled a certain selection for representative honours by Richmond and Victoria coach Damien Hardwick when the league announced a State of Origin exhibition match for bushfire relief fundraising was to be held in February.
Martin contributed the standout performance of that match, helping Victoria to a victory over the All-Stars with a two-goal and 23 disposal showing that saw him awarded the Best on Ground medal.
He sat out Richmond's first pre-season match that same weekend but returned in fine form for the final practice match against Greater Western Sydney a week later.
Despite an uninterrupted pre-season, the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia by mid-March saw the future of the season in doubt, including Martin and Richmond's premiership defense.
The AFL commission eventually announced a shortened 17-round season would proceed as scheduled, but without fans in attendance due to public health prohibitions on group gatherings.
Martin contributed 24 disposals and a goal in a round 1 win over Carlton under those conditions, and like all matches that season, with match time reduced by one fifth in order to reduce the load on players who would be expected to play multiple matches in short periods with a compressed fixture in the later part of the year.
Just three days later however, the AFL commission suspended the season after multiple states enforced quarantine conditions on their borders that effectively ruled out the possibility of continuing the season as planned.
After an 11-week hiatus, Martin contributed 20 disposals in a round 2 draw with Collingwood in early-June, before missing Richmond's round 3 loss to Hawthorn with minor rib bruising.
He returned after one week away with 18 disposals in a loss to St Kilda.
Martin returned to pre-season training in the first week of December 2019 and was labelled a certain selection for representative honours by Richmond and Victoria coach Damien Hardwick when the league announced a State of Origin exhibition match for bushfire relief fundraising was to be held in February. Martin contributed the standout performance of that match, helping Victoria to a victory over the All-Stars with a two-goal and 23 disposal showing that saw him awarded the Best on Ground medal. He sat out Richmond's first pre-season match that same weekend but returned in fine form for the final practice match against Greater Western Sydney a week later. Despite an uninterrupted pre-season, the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia by mid-March saw the future of the season in doubt, including Martin and Richmond's premiership defense. The AFL commission eventually announced a shortened 17-round season would proceed as scheduled, but without fans in attendance due to public health prohibitions on group gatherings. Martin contributed 24 disposals and a goal in a round 1 win over Carlton under those conditions, and like all matches that season, with match time reduced by one fifth in order to reduce the load on players who would be expected to play multiple matches in short periods with a compressed fixture in the later part of the year. Just three days later however, the AFL commission suspended the season after multiple states enforced quarantine conditions on their borders that effectively ruled out the possibility of continuing the season as planned. After an 11-week hiatus, Martin contributed 20 disposals in a round 2 draw with Collingwood in early-June, before missing Richmond's round 3 loss to Hawthorn with minor rib bruising. He returned after one week away with 18 disposals in a loss to St Kilda.
Dustin Martin