The rise, fall and rise of Geraldton’s Jack Martin ahead of his first AFL grand final appearance

Local football legend Dale Baynes knew Jack Martin was going to be something special from the age of 12, labelling him the “most talented kid” he’s ever seen in Geraldton.

Martin is now on the precipice of reaching the AFL summit — a premiership — which has come amid a bumpy career riddled with injury and a journey through three clubs.

The 30-year-old is set to line up for Geelong as they face reigning premiers Brisbane in the 2025 AFL grand final at the MCG on Saturday.

Martin has had a successful season at the Cats after being delisted by Carlton last year after five seasons with the Blues, where he missed more games through injury than he played.

After debuting with the Gold Coast Suns as a 18-year-old in 2013, Martin has had a new lease on life and footy after joining the Cats and managing to get his body in the best condition possible.

Martin began his footballing journey in his hometown of Broome before moving to Geraldton at the age of 12 with his extended family to pursue his football dream, playing his juniors at Rovers before moving to Towns.

Martin’s dad Chris said the reason for the move was down to development and being able to give his son the best chance at making it all the way to the AFL.

“We had seen he had potential there as a young fellow, winning all the awards up here (Broome) so he wanted to have a new challenge,” Chris said.

“So about 11 years old, we sent him down to Geraldton because all my cousins played for Rovers.

“Jack played three seasons at Rovers as a junior and then moved to Towns because we thought that their coach at the time, Dale Baynes was a good fit for Jack to develop more.”

With the trust of the family, Baynes, who met Martin while working at Clontarf, took Martin under his wing.

The Towns coach said Martin’s potential was obvious from the outset.

“We used to have scratch matches on the school oval, and whatever team he was on, that team would win every single scratch match,” Baynes said.

“To the point where I had to play on the opposite team to try and make the game a little bit more even.

“He was just freakish.”

Martin proved himself as a hard worker, giving himself the best chance of living up to his potential.

“He’s probably the most talented kid I’ve ever seen in Geraldton,” Baynes said.

“But then he wasn’t afraid to work hard. He was going to Perth for State trainings and things like that.

“He was always up to date with all of his schoolwork and when he came back from trainings in Perth he’d catch up on stuff he’d missed out on in the classroom.

“He wasn’t just relying on footy. He was grounded enough to know that I still need an education.

“He left no stone unturned in terms of the preparation that he put into to make sure he gave himself the best opportunity to have an AFL career.”

After being drafted by the Suns in 2012, Martin played 97 games for Gold Coast before moving to Carlton where he played 54 games.

Saturday’s premiership decider will be his 164th game in his 13th season.

Martin’s father Chris has been there all the way, riding the ups and downs of his son’s career. He said he was immensely proud of the character his son had showed along the way.

“It still hasn’t hit me like he’s actually gonna be playing in the big stage,” Chris said.

“We are very proud of him and all the hard work he has put in along the way.

“He could have given up after the injuries but wanted to give it another crack and Geelong has been really good for him.

“All the hard work we did for him as a family has paid off and to be able to hopefully see him with a premiership medal round his neck will be special.”