RICHMOND'S Dustin Martin showed again on the weekend that he is capable of dominating games of football at the elite level.

Generally speaking, Martin's contribution predominantly lies in the midfield, where he is a contested footy beast, able to create scoring opportunities inside 50 and consistently producing 30 plus possession games.

In the game against Brisbane last weekend we witnessed another string to the Martin show.

His six goals against Brisbane were a reminder of how versatile he has become and why in my view there is none better in a one on one contest than Dustin Martin.

There are some key forwards in the past and present who when given the opportunity to be isolated one on one in the forward 50 were able to swing games through momentum, display individual brilliance and win matches off their own boot.

Names like Carey and Ablett snr of yesteryear and Franklin and Lynch of today are nearly unbeatable when team structures and game plans fall their way in isolation.

These players more often than not dominate their direct opponent in the air and at ground level with brute body strength and ultimately at goals.

Martin is in the same category. However, he is a midfielder not a key forward, which makes him a more favourable and versatile athlete.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few others in the competition who can match his dominance as a key midfielder and power forward.

We have the luxury of watching the likes of Dangerfield, Ablett jnr and Fyfe, all Brownlow Medallists and superstar footballers who are more than capable of playing dual roles.

For me Martin still gets the nod but only just.

That's the landscape of footy today, the great players are able to adapt to certain structures and plans and are able to play in numerous positions at the same intensity and level.

The same principle applies for suburban football.

On Saturday we played our best game of the year against the Harvey Bay Bombers, narrowly going down by four points.

When the game was at the crossroads we had to make some positional changes with two of our star mid-fielders going forward.

Young gun Jack Cross and the evergreen skipper Lanze Magin went forward early in the third quarter and to their credit swung the momentum our way with their attack on the footy, aerial ability and creative play.

With Magin linking up with Cross through half forward, Cross was able to kick 4 goals in a quarter that got us to a 36 point lead.

Unfortunately, for us the Bombers bounced back and kicked a goal late in the last quarter to win the game in the dying seconds.

But that's footy. We move on, take the positives and be ready to go against Across the Waves in Bundaberg on Saturday.