For the umpteenth time in his magnificent AFL career, Dustin Martin produced a powerful performance that propelled Richmond to a memorable four-point victory over Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium last night.

With the severely undermanned Tigers trailing by 28 points midway through the third quarter, it was Martin who, in trademark fashion, provided the impetus to turn the tide for his team.

The triple Norm Smith Medallist finished the match with 28 disposals, 15 contested possessions, six inside-50s, five clearances, four goals, nine score involvements and 428 metres gained.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick heaped praise on Martin during his post-game press conference.

“He was huge . . . When you feel like you need a goal, he delivers a goal. He kicked four goals and probably just missed one at the end as well,” Hardwick said.

“That’s what good players do – they break the game open.

“He was really, really important tonight.”

GWS coach Leon Cameron also acknowledged Martin’s substantial influence on the outcome of the contest.

“He’s a special player . . . There are some special players all over the league and he’s one of the most special out there,” Cameron said.

“He finds a way to make something out of nothing.

“Some of his goals at pivotal times clearly kept them in the game when we probably had momentum.

“Big players like that rise to the occasions. He did and got us in the end.”

As for the man himself, Dusty was typically modest when interviewed by Fox Footy immediately after the match, preferring to focus on the team’s overall effort.

“I’m just so proud of the boys,” Martin said.

“We just stuck to what we knew and that was awesome.

“We’ve just got so much belief and we’ve got a lot of heart, and we showed that tonight.

“As I said, I’m just so proud of the way the boys go about it.”