Geraldton’s Jack Martin set for the big stage, destined for grand final after finding new lease with Geelong

Geraldton’s Jack Martin is one win away from the pinnacle of the AFL, set to play in the 2025 grand final on Saturday after Geelong downed Hawthorn in Friday night’s preliminary final. The Cats will be facing reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions on the last Saturday in September at the MCG. Martin, 27, has had a successful season this year with the Cats after after leaving Carlton at the end of last season. The Cats are his third AFL club after Martin started with the Gold Coast Suns. The former Towns young gun had a fairly quiet night in the preliminary final against Hawthorn with eight disposals, three marks, four tackles and a goal. Martin’s career has been given a new lease of life after joining the Cats and managing to get his body in the best condition possible after it failed him at the back end of his career at Carlton. The 30-year-old told AFL.com.au earlier this month the battle has been more than just a physical one as he prepared for his first finals series for Geelong. “It’s a funny one, because half the battle for me has been the mental game. It’s between the ears,” Martin said. “I haven’t played a lot of footy over the last couple of years. Even now, during the week at training, I’ll ask, ‘am I going to get through this?’. I’m sort of still facing those challenges. “But it’s having trust in the work that I’ve done in the last five, six months, that my body will hold up. A lot of it is challenging, but I’m just going out there and enjoying every moment. I feel like I’ve come out the other end of that.” 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 was later drafted by Gold Coast in 2012 before making his AFL debut in 2013 for the Suns. Martin played 97 games for the Suns before moving to Carlton where he played 54 games. Martin was delisted by Carlton after a long stint of injuries at the end of last season before Geelong picked him up. Martin’s father Chris has been there all the way and has ridden the ups and downs of his career but 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.”