It’s still difficult to believe that Nic Martin has only played 44 AFL games.
Already poised beyond his years, the 22-year-old enjoyed an outstanding 2023 season for the Bombers, averaging 22 disposals and five marks per game.
Since being taken as a supplemental selection ahead of 2022, Martin has flaunted his elite foot skills across both the wing and half-forward, becoming an integral cog in the Bombers’ ball movement.
After producing career-high numbers as a pure winger, a move back to half-forward in the second half of 2023 came as a surprise to some, but the ability to stay adaptable has always been important to Martin.
“I’ve learnt heaps under (Senior Coach Brad Scott). It was good to get in there and play a variety of different roles across half-forward and the wing, getting a lot of experience under the belt,” Martin said.
“There’s nothing new to me playing half-forward, I’d played there in my first year and we had different guys go to the wing like 'Coxy' (Nik Cox) and 'Lij' (Elijah Tsatas) towards the end of the year.
“We’ve got a good luxury of wingers going through there to share the load.
“In-game, (we want to) have that flexibility to go between roles and add a different look to the team with personnel in different spots.”
Martin’s form was a key factor in the Bombers’ blistering form through to round 17 of the home-and-away season, with the team sitting in fifth spot and well placed for a finals push.
After a late-season dip in form saw the team finish 11th on the ladder, Martin believes the disappointing end to the season has added extra motivation for a big off-season block.
“You can obviously take some confidence with some of the wins we had, but it’s obviously bitterly disappointing because we put ourselves in with a chance to make finals,” Martin said.
“There’s good parts to take out of it, but there’s also a lot we need to work on. We’re definitely growing.
“It puts so much (of a fire in the belly). It’ll hurt over the off-season and pre-season we’ll come back firing.”
