Career: 1988-2003; 1988-2002 North Melbourne, 2003 Carlton
Games: 300; 287 North Melbourne, 13 Carlton
Goals: 16
Brownlow Medal: 22 career votes
Guernsey numbers: 50 (1988), 4 (1989-2002)
Height: 190cm
Weight: 101kg
DOB: 31 August 1968 (Debut: 19y 222d, last game: 34y 336d)

Coach Denis Pagan took pride in the fact that he had watched Martyn join the Roos as a 15 year-old "and develop as a real man and a hard-nosed professional". He was a forward in the under-19s but in 1988 the team needed someone strong and tough on the back line which provided his opening.

He emulated his father Brian's effort by winning North's best and fairest in 1989, then tied for the honour two years later. One of his saddest moments in the game was in the 1994 Preliminary Final when his opponent Gary Ablett goaled to sink North. It was not Martyn's fault but he said a couple of years later that it had not played upon his mind and that Ablett had been in the right position at the right time.

At the start of 1996 his form slipped slightly but before long he was back on top and he went on to be part of the flag side. A change in approach involved him playing in front and moving off quickly when he got the chance. Martyn also played in the Roos' 1999 premiership side but struggled with recurring hamstring injuries in 2001 and was delisted. The Roos gave him another chance and he had a reasonable 2002, but then was delisted again. It has been a tumultuous year for the veteran as he had worked hard to shore up team spirit in the wake of of the Carey affair, and had then seen his father pass away from a long battle with cancer.

His old coach Denis Pagan surprised the football world by drafting him to Carlton with the final selection of the 2002 National Draft. Martyn was in Bali at the time of the bombing in late 2002 and helped save the life of his mate Jason McCartney. In an unusual twist Denis Pagan told him he would have drafted McCartney instead if he had been available. He gave some useful displays for Carlton despite calf injuries and a fractured bone in his leg that ket him off the training track.

Profile from 'The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers'

VFL/AFL: 9918th player to appear
North Melbourne: 789th player to appear

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