The thoughts still run through Jack Martin’s mind nearly every time he laces his boots. Sometimes, it’s as simple as, “Can I get through this game?” If he does, the next question inevitably follows – “Am I going to pull up OK?” At his lowest points, even trotting out to training begged the thought, “Will I finish this session?”
Martin’s fitness had failed him towards the end of a five-year Carlton career that yielded just 54 senior games. More than that, his mind had started playing tricks on him as well. While he was always confident he could get back to being the player he had long promised to be, he needed to find an environment that could cater to a body that was fast becoming unreliable. He’s found that at Geelong.
The Move to Geelong: A New Beginning
The story of Martin’s season dates back to late last year, when he first met with Cats coach Chris Scott and the club’s football boss Andrew Mackie about the prospect of a move. At the time, with his days at Carlton numbered, Geelong was attempting to lure the forward down the highway, as opposed to across the country and back to his home state of Western Australia, where Fremantle had also shown interest.
The Geelong list management team ultimately swayed the 30-year-old with a carefully curated and meticulously designed plan to get his body back to peak condition. It was one laid out by science and medicine consultant Steve Saunders, high-performance manager Des O’Sullivan, and physiotherapist Richard Citroen, backed by Scott and Mackie, and requiring the full buy-in of Martin himself.
“As much as we’ve got this finals series to play out, I’m really excited and optimistic about another pre-season and what next season holds and beyond that as well,” Martin says.
Rebuilding Confidence and Fitness
The detailed Geelong plan that was presented to Martin unfolded across the first half of this season. It started with the veteran playing only a half of a VFL practice game against Port Melbourne in February. He was scheduled to play another half for the VFL side against Essendon the following week but pulled out due to some calf tightness in the lead-up. He wasn’t seen again, at any level, for three months.
However, that was all part of the equation. As speculation in certain quarters swirled around whether another significant soft-tissue injury was keeping Martin sidelined, that wasn’t the case. Instead, behind the scenes and away from prying eyes, he was completing a lengthy block of conditioning work, re-training his body – and his mind – to handle the rigors of a full season of football.
Geelong was playing the long game, taking a wider lens to Martin’s availability. Fully backed by Scott and the club’s senior coaching team – who were all aligned with the high-performance staff’s planning – and with the support of the player himself, Martin was virtually taken out of contention for selection until every marker in his comprehensive return-to-play program was hit.
A Triumphant Return
That moment eventually came on May 23, when Martin was cleared for managed minutes in a VFL clash against Footscray at the Whitten Oval. It was another crucial hurdle for the Geelong recruit to clear on his road to recovery. When he got through that, and another reserves hitout against Williamstown the following week, an AFL comeback finally beckoned.
That arrived on June 7, when Martin played his first AFL game in 300 days in a win over the club where he started his career, Gold Coast. If you needed an indication of whether patience was the right call, he’s played in 10 of the 11 games since. The only match he missed, against Essendon last month, was due to the club taking an ultra-cautious approach to his sustained fitness after he was initially named in the selected side.
“To be honest, it was more out of my hands,” Martin says of Geelong’s detailed fitness plan. “I left it to the high-performance and the medical team. I just trusted their process.”
Looking Ahead: Finals and Beyond
Martin’s impact on Geelong’s fortunes through the second half of the season has been obvious. A big driver in the club’s decision to chase him towards the end of last season was his positional flexibility and, since returning to the park, he has indeed flourished at both ends of the field.
Having kickstarted his return in a long-forgotten role across half-back, resulting in a 21-disposal performance against Brisbane and a 25-disposal effort against Richmond to emphasize both his newfound sense of fitness and form, he’s since moved forward again and been just as influential.
He has kicked nine goals from his past five games – including a day out against Port Adelaide, where he was activated from the substitute’s bench and kicked four goals in his first five minutes on the ground – making him feel primed for September.
“I’m just enjoying it and enjoying every day. Especially with having a young family, bringing the kids along to the game and just making it an experience for them as well. I haven’t played a lot of finals in the past, so I’m excited,” Martin says.
As Geelong prepares for its finals campaign, Martin stands as a testament to resilience and the power of a well-executed plan. His journey from the brink of retirement to becoming a key player for Geelong is a story of hope and determination, offering inspiration to athletes facing similar challenges.
