Stefan Martin Biography

Stefan Martin takes on the role of development coach at the Western Bulldogs.

"We identified a need for additional support for our coaching group and Stef fits our need perfectly, given his 203 games of AFL experience and relationships with the players," Dogs' football director Chris Grant said.

"Stef always set a great example during his time at the Bulldogs, looking to get the best out of himself, and we look forward to him imparting this approach and his learning onto our players."

Stefan Martin, who has been sidelined since round 12 with hip and groin issues, is on track to be fit for selection in the coming weeks. However, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says it would be a huge risk to select Stefan Martin during the finals.

"If he can really be on top of things physically with what we throw at him, then that would give us peace of mind if we get there. But we're not counting on it," Beveridge said.

Following Stefan Martin's trade to the Bulldogs, Oscar McInerney is ready to resume the number one ruck spot at the Lions.

"There's nothing better for an aspiring ruckman coming into the system to have a player like Stef to follow with his professionalism, gym, nutrition, what he did on the field with his ruck craft, running and being such a great mentor and someone to look up to," McInerney said.

"My philosophy is to not be comfortable with where I'm at, get into work every day and chase the best. If I'm doing the work, that's my process. You're never comfortable."

Brisbane ruckman Stefan Martin is officially a Western Bulldog and Dogs defender Lachie Young has landed at North Melbourne as part of a three-way trade. As part of the transaction, the Lions traded out their pick No.70 and received the Roos' No.63 selection.

"We wanted to bring in an experienced ruckman this off-season to bolster our squad and Stef certainly fits that description," Bulldogs list boss Sam Power said about Martin.

"Lachie is an athletic rebounding defender who intercepts the ball well and has a really nice kick. He fits our direction in terms of where we want to take the list and fills a need in our backline," North list manager Glenn Luff said about Young.

Stefan Martin will miss more than two months with a grade-two torn PCL, sustained during the Lions' disappointing round one loss to Hawthorn.

Stefan Martin is the only player to not miss a game in Chris Fagan's three-year, 66-game, tenure as head coach of Brisbane.

"Over the years I've been lucky to be coached by some very good strength and conditioning guys and picked their brains, and I've also gone away and worked on my own education," Martin said.

"Then trial and error over the years, learned what works for me and working with the strength and conditioning guys to write programs that suit my position and me as an individual.

"You can never guarantee it, but you help stave off soft tissue injuries by doing the work in the gym an on the track."

Stefan Martin re-signs with Brisbane to play on in 2020, saying he feels reinvigorated by the prospect of playing finals in 2019.

In 11 prior years at Melbourne and Brisbane, Martin has never had a sniff of finals, with 12th being the highest either team has finished during his time.

"I've said to a few people, this feels like what footy should be. I personally haven't experienced anything like this before," he said.

"Having been around for a while, it's like I'm a young kid again. This type of work environment, this type of job satisfaction are things new to me.

"It's easily the most exciting time I've been around a footy club."

Stefan Martin says he hopes to be part of finals action for the first time in his career in 2019 as a Lion.

The 32-year-old ruckman has played 170 games all up, comprised of five largely-barren seasons with Melbourne and now 113 games in his seventh year for the Lions.

"I've been nowhere near it for my 12 years so far," Martin conceded.

"Going through the hard times with this club and being in it with fans, staff and players that have been around, it'd be one of the most meaningful things I could do in my life if I was around here to play finals.

"It would make it all the more sweet to be around."

Dayne Zorko will captain Brisbane in 2019 after the club announced an eight-man leadership group that also included recruit Lachie Neale.

Along with Neale, rugged defender Darcy Gardiner and young midfielder Jarrod Berry have been added.

They join established leaders Harris Andrews, Stefan Martin, Ryan Lester and Allen Christensen.

Dayne Zorko wins his fourth consecutive Merrett-Murray Medal, taking out Brisbane's best and fairest by a solitary vote from Dayne Beams.

Zorko polled 250 votes, edging out Beams (249) and ruckman Stefan Martin (242).

Stefan Martin attributes his good early-season form in 2018 to trimming down during the off-season.

"Having looked at footage of me last year, I felt like I was lumbering and not moving that well," Martin said.

"For an undersized ruckman, it's pretty important I move well, or what's the point?

"I lost a fair bit of weight, probably five kilos. It took a fair bit of discipline. It helped me regain that mobility I had a few years ago."

Dayne Beams will captain the Brisbane Lions for a second straight season in 2018.

Beams will be deputised by Dayne Zorko who takes the vice-captain role, while Harris Andrews has been promoted as deputy vice-captain.

Stefan Martin, Ryan Lester and Allen Christensen will remain as leaders for the club.

Steven May admits his heart skipped a beat when his shoulder clipped the chin of Western Bulldogs forward Tom Boyd during the final game of the JLT Community Series.

When Boyd hit the ground, May feared he may once again fall foul of the Match Review Panel and be forced to sit out the QClash against the Brisbane Lions in round one.

Having served five weeks' suspension for shirt fronting Lions ruckman Stefan Martin in round four last year May had held his arms up and tried his best to avoid Boyd.

"He [Boyd] had himself opened up so I tried to pull out," May said.

However, as his shoulder clipped Boyd's chin like a high jumper just failing to clear the bar, May momentarily panicked.

"When I saw him on the ground, because it was completely accidental, I was just like 'No, no, no, not [again]'… obviously last year was stupid [but] this year was an accident," May said.

"I was a little bit nervous because it was a Thursday game and the Match Review Panel wasn't until Monday but I was very happy [to be in the clear]."

Dayne Beams will lead the Brisbane Lions in 2017 after being confirmed as the club's new captain, taking over from Tom Rockliff, who was named vice-captain.

Dayne Zorko is the deputy vice-captain, while Stefan Martin, Allen Christensen, Ryan Lester and Harris Andrews make up the rest of the seven-man leadership group.

"I like to think I'm an action-based leader, I lead by example," Beams said.

"I do what I say and I think the overriding thing is I'm really passionate about the football club and where it's heading.

"We've got some emerging young talent and I'm looking forward to seeing that blossom."

Stefan Martin says a sore knee was the main reason he struggled in 2016.

"Pretty much every step I was taking I was in pain, so jogging was painful [and] I couldn't reach top speed," Martin said.

Dayne Zorko wins his second successive Merrett-Murray Medal with a comfortable win at the Brisbane Lions' best and fairest count.

Zorko tallied 122 votes to edge out fellow 2015 victors Mitch Robinson (110) and Stefan Martin (106).

"It's quite an honour to be joining some of the greats of the club that have won two Merrett-Murray medals," Zorko said.

"To be quite honest, I'm speechless.

"I tried to forget about the results and just go about playing my role for the team every week.

"It's just a reward for consistency throughout the year."

Ahead of his return from a five-game suspension, Steven May pleads with the footy community to not judge him purely on the bump that knocked out Brisbane Lion Stefan Martin.

"I didn't want the wider football world to judge me purely on that, and that's all they have to go off because they don't know me personally," May said.

"I was embarrassed about that because people are going to call me what they like and they can only judge me off my actions.

"My job now is to build respect back by the way I play football and the way I conduct myself in the community.

"The world's not over, I've got a chance, I'm not finished, and I look forward to building that respect back."

Stefan Martin says he is fit for his 100-game milestone despite a poor showing against the Bulldogs following the concussion he suffered against Gold Coast.

"I was fine. It was just one of those days where I wasn't sharp enough or hard enough to have a good game," Martin said.

"I was very passive, I was ball-watching a lot, not aggressive, which are the things I've modelled my game on the last few years and I didn't do any of it on the weekend."

Stefan Martin says he didn't want Steven May to be suspended for the bump that left him unconscious.

"I wasn't really wanting him to get a suspension, from a personal point of view," Martin said.

"But in terms of reminding people about head-high contact, five weeks is probably about right.

"He plays on the edge of that aggressive line and maybe he overstepped it on this occasion.

"The way he conducted himself after the event was enough to let me know that he was pretty remorseful.

"I appreciate him reaching out to me during the week. In my limited dealings with him in the past, he's been a good fella."

Steven May is handed a five-match ban by the Tribunal for his bump on Brisbane Lions ruckman Stefan Martin.

In a testy hearing that lasted 90 minutes, the 22-year-old invited the Tribunal to hand him a significant penalty by pleading guilty to making "severe" impact to Martin's head.

He said he had intended to "block" Martin so teammate Gary Ablett could win possession and at no stage had he intended to injure the Lions' ruckman, who suffered concussion from the hit.

"I reckon I probably could have picked up the ball, but it was because 'Gaz' and Stef were about to contest the ball that I decided to bump," May told the Tribunal.

"I just decided that they're running with the ball and if I could take Martin out and block him 'Gaz' would have a free run at the ball.

"It was the wrong decision."

Steven May's sickening hit on Stefan Martin goes viral.

The Gold Coast defender's bump on the Brisbane Lions ruckman has received 3.2 million views on Facebook, reaching 8.4 million people.

After being knocked out by Steven May, Stefan Martin has passed his first concussion test and is now considered a good chance to play the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.

"I saw him this morning, he's in good spirits," Lions defender Tom Cutler said of his teammate.

"His health is number one and football after that. We think he'll be OK."

Steven May formally apologises to Stefan Martin for the brutal head-high bump that left the Brisbane Lions ruckman unconscious.

"I'm very remorseful that in the heat of the game I overstepped the mark, I am disappointed in my actions and for that I apologise to Stefan," May said in a statement.

"Fortunately after the game last night I had the chance to speak with Stefan and apologised to him directly. And again this morning, I made contact with Stefan to check up on him and we have since exchanged messages."

Stefan Martin is knocked out after being crunched by Steven May.

The hit saw May take his eyes off the ball, leap into the air and make contact with Martin high less than two minutes before half-time.

Stefan Martin expresses concerns over the interchange cap for 2016 in his role as the Lions' primary ruckman.

"It will make it a lot harder," he said.

"Last year if Leuey (Matthew Leuenberger) wasn't there I tended to play 95 percent game time anyway, so I've had a fair bit of exposure to it.

"It may be tough over 20 games to keep backing up that sort of game time."

Stefan Martin will play out his career with the Brisbane Lions after signing a three-year contract extension.

Martin was coming out of contract at the end of 2016 but put any fears of leaving aside, committing to the Lions until 2019.

Lions CEO Greg Swann says Brisbane will reject any trade proposal for Stefan Martin who is still under contract for 2016.

"He’s contracted and he’s going nowhere,” Swann told News Corp.

"He won’t be traded under any circumstances and we’ve told him that and he’s OK."

Stefan Martin is still weighing up his future, but says he'll likely stay with the Brisbane Lions in 2016.

Martin is contracted for next year, but is considering a return to Melbourne for personal reasons.

"I've got some life circumstances going on and that's the only reason I'd want to leave the club," Martin said.

"(It's) unrelated to the club, nothing they've done, but sometimes life gets in the way.

"At this stage it's looking like I'll be at the Lions, not 100 per cent, but that's where it's at, at the moment."

Four players tie for the Merrett-Murray Medal as the Brisbane Lions' best and fairest in 2015.

Dayne Beams, Stefan Martin, Mitch Robinson and Dayne Zorko were named joint winners at the Club Champion awards dinner after polling 130 votes each.

Stefan Martin is weighing up whether or not to return home to Victoria.

Regarded as one of the League's best big men over the past 12 months, Martin could formally approach the Lions in coming weeks with his intentions for a trade due to personal reasons.

Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch says he is looking forward to Stefan Martin and Matthew Leuenberger working together to provide a dangerous ruck combo for the Lions in 2015.

"As long as they're fit and healthy we'll have that combination. I think it can be a real weapon for us," Leppitsch said.

"I was unsure how it would go but they work together really well, they're really good mates, they communicate well, which has made it easier.

"They work it themselves really well, they often come with recommendations going into games, who should start forward.

"I think that's important, that they embrace the roles to try and maximise our potential ruck dominance we have."

Stefan Martin has agreed to a new two-year deal with Brisbane.

The 27-year-old has had a stunning career revival in the second half of the season and will now remain at the Gabba until at least the end of 2016.

"With injuries to Leuenberger and West, Stef was given an opportunity and he has undoubtedly taken hold of it with both hands," Lions general manager of football operations Dean Warren said.

"Earlier this year we all thought Stef's career was at a crossroads and Stef himself acknowledged his recall as his last chance, but he really has earned this new deal and has transformed himself into arguably one of the best ruckmen in the competition this season."

After injury hampered Stefan Martin's fresh start at the Lions, the ruckman is making giant strides in Brisbane.

Martin has been one of the Brisbane Lions' raging success stories this season, starring in his seven games since being given opportunity following injuries to regular rucks Matthew Leuenberger and Trent West.

"I want to keep believing that way, that I'm still fighting (for my spot)," Martin said.

"I think it's a healthy place to be because every game you go in trying to prove something to everybody.

"That's how I'm going to keep viewing it and I think it's a good thing to do it that way.

"AFL careers can turn around very quickly, either in a good direction or bad direction. I'd like to think I'll view it that way for the rest of my career."

Stefan Martin realises this could be his last chance to prove himself at AFL level.

Injury has limited the Brisbane Lions ruckman to just 63 games in seven seasons, but the 27-year-old made the most of his recall against the Western Bulldogs in round 12 with a stellar showing with 17 disposals and 32 hitouts.

"Realistically it is the last chance to prove myself," Martin said.

"I missed all of last year with injury and the first half of this year as well.

"I started wondering whether I'd keep doing them (hamstrings) my whole career. You never know if you're going to overcome that.

"We've tweaked my weights program a bit, and I feel on top of it now."

Brisbane Lion Stefan Martin has put a frustrating final year at Melbourne behind him and is excited about his new home.

"I realise footy is a business these days. I wasn't offended or anything that they would trade me, that was fine," he said.

"I wasn't happy that I didn't play a lot of football that year, it's always frustrating when you're injured, but to have a fresh start in Brisbane is really exciting."

The Brisbane Lions have bolstered their big man department, signing Melbourne's Stefan Martin in exchange for picks No.53 and No.73.

"Structurally, a player of Stefan's ability is critically important as it provides us with a flexible tall who can be effective both in the ruck and around the ground," Lions national talent manager Rob Kerr said.



"We view Stefan as a natural support ruckman who can cover the ground really well. He presents another marking option up forward, and has also had experiencing playing down back.



"The shifting ruck rules seem to suit players with Stefan's athletic capabilities."

Versatile Melbourne tall Stef Martin is expecting to spend more time in the forward 50 this season.

"As far as I understand it at this stage - I'll play more time in the forward line than in the ruck," Martin said.

"At this stage, it looks as though I'm going to be playing as a forward for the majority of the game. And then I'll be playing ruck for a smaller percentage of the game.

"So that's what I've been training as and that could be a good to give me some stability.

"But I must say, I didn't mind it either, being swung around, so if I'm needed in defence, I'm happy to do that too."

Versatile Demon, Stefan Martin is hoping the new interchange rules will create a more permanent spot in the Melbourne side.

"I guess with the new interchange rule, that sort of player that can play ruck and at either end can be pretty important to teams with one less interchange player," Martin said.

"I played the first two years as a backman and the last year or so I've been playing as a forward and in the ruck so I've got experience in all three positions."

Injuries to Melbourne's most experienced ruckman will mean forward Stef Martin may do the tap work during the NAB Cup.

"He went forward and kicked some miraculous goals last year and started off as a backman so he's experienced in all areas," teammate Matthew Bate said of Martin's flexibility as a player.

"It's valuable to have someone nearly 200cm be able to play anywhere on the ground."

Melbourne has won the commitment of two more of its emerging players with Stefan Martin and Jack Grimes signing new two-year contracts.

"What we want to try and establish at the club is that there is never any doubt in our players wanting to stay," Melbourne general manager of list management Tim Harrington said.

"And re-signing pretty much becomes a formality, because the players are very much aware of a building momentum in the club that will provide success down the track."