Australian Football

Strongly built, superb overhead, and an exemplary exponent of the place kick, Percy Martini had all the attributes necessary to succeed as a forward in the pre- and post-World War I VFL. He began with Geelong in 1909 when, despite playing just eight games for the season, he topped the club's goal kicking list with 17 goals, an achievement he would repeat on eight occasions. In 1910 he became the first Geelong player to register 50 goals in a season, a remarkable achievement considering that he did not always line up at full forward.

In 1916, when Geelong dropped out of the VFL competition "as a gesture designed to encourage young men to join the military forces", Martini played for Richmond, and topped that club's goal kicking for the year with 22 majors from 10 games. He returned 'home' to Geelong where he went on to complete 149 league games for the Cats before retiring after round seven of the 1920 season. His V/AFL aggregate tally of 355 goals at an average of 2.23 per game was quite exceptional for the time.

Author - John Devaney