Dustin Martin, a powerfully-built, attacking midfielder, with superb kicking skills, was taken by Richmond with its first selection (pick 3 overall) in the 2009 AFL National Draft.

The 18-year-old from Castlemaine had been earmarked by the Tigers as their No. 1 Draft choice for quite some time.

Tiger talent scouts were super-impressed with Martin’s all-round football ability, strength of character and maturity.

“Dustin has been on our radar since last year.  He is a special talent and we have tracked him closely,” said Richmond’s Recruitment Manager Francis Jackson.

“We knew last year that he would go top five in the Draft.  He has improved even further over the past year and had a stellar performance at the under-18s national carnival, which culminated in him being named in the All-Australian side (in the centre).”

Martin, who played for Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup this year, not only has an abundance of natural football ability, he is highly motivated to succeed at the game’s highest level.

“He is unbelievably football focused,” Jackson said.

“Despite leaving school early, he has had terrific life experiences and is a very hard worker.

“He is a nice country kid, very humble, but has a fanatical desire to be the best he can.

“When we told him we were taking him at pick three, he wanted to come to training on Friday and he was gutted to find out the players had the day off and wouldn’t be resuming training until Monday.

“He is just so eager to start with us.”