Splitting time with Oscar McInerney in the ruck, Stefan Martin spent much of 2019 developing his forward craft. The resilient former Demon has played 71 consecutive matches, but predictably less ruck time has led to a decline in disposals, marks and hit outs. The former fantasy stalwart is entering the twilight of his career, and his figures have reflected as much. While still a steady contributor in the middle, Martin has been unable to make a regular impact forward of centre. He presents as a viable selection in the latter middle rounds.
Stefan born to be mild
Splitting time with Oscar McInerney in the ruck, Stefan Martin spent much of 2019 developing his forward craft. The resilient former Demon has played 71 consecutive matches, but predictably less ruck time has led to a decline in disposals, marks and hit outs. The former fantasy stalwart is entering the twilight of his career, and his figures have reflected as much. While still a steady contributor in the middle, Martin has been unable to make a regular impact forward of centre. He presents as a viable selection in the latter middle rounds.
Stefan Martin has managed to stave off the challenge from Archie Smith for now, though at his age there's always the chance that match committee will switch mid-season like Adelaide did with Sam Jacobs. Today he comes up against Max Gawn, who will be on a mission to dominate the stoppages to set his midfield up for victory. Martin may not have the ceiling he once did for fantasy owners, but he is still a starter in draft leagues and should at least battle on manfully for some sort of usable score even if he's beaten on the day.
The right Stefan
The preseason threat of Archie Smith muscling into a timeshare situation for the Brisbane ruck with Stefan Martin turned out to be a myth, as Martin was used as lone ruck then got Oscar McInerney as occasional support after round 6. He averaged 12 points better on his own, including a gargantuan 177 in round 3 against a Patrick Ryder-less Port Adelaide, but still managed the rare feat of averaging a fantasy ton as a ruck post the age of 30. Of the top 25 rucks, only Max Gawn beats Martin in mark tallies and that's been the key to his fantasy scoring, although in his case it's uncontested link play rather than the Demon's pack-busting intercepts. He's not getting any younger and will slow down at some point, which will cut those plus-sixes out of his game. He has significant downside risk, but we said that last year and it didn't happen. Worth watching in preseason to see whether Archie is looming.
Fagan foxing with Martin
As had been threatened late in 2016, Stefan Martin had to time share in ruck with Archie Smith from rounds 10 through 16 as part of the much younger man's development. Martin's fantasy average dropped from 113 fantasy points to 86 in that stretch, then 95 afterwards. Nevertheless, Martin enjoyed the removal of third man up like the other lead rucks and took a few scalps along the way. Martin's age is the main issue here. 31 is very old for a ruckman, albeit he has only spent about four total seasons in the position, having been a forward earlier in his career. We saw last season how Todd Goldstein met the cliff in his seventh year as lead ruck at the age of 29. Along with the rise in baseline for rucks, this means Martin should drop through the middle rounds of your draft.
