SHUTTING down Dustin Martin is a task that’s far easier said than done.

The Richmond star’s versatility and explosive power makes him a difficult prospect to tag, with Martin a threat both in the midfield and up forward.

But against St Kilda on Saturday night, the Brownlow contender’s influence was well and truly nullified by an all-out effort led by Saints midfielder Seb Ross.

“It’s not about possessions, he (Ross) had an unbelievable game — 33 (disposals) and 10 score involvements, a goal, he played on Martin, he did the job,” Fox Footy analyst David King said on AFL 360.

Round 18

“I want to show you how he did the job.

“There are levels of tagging. This is discipline that I’ve never seen before from a midfielder, defensive discipline.”

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In the Fox Sports Lab, King cited examples of footage from the Saints victory, where Ross constantly remained vigilant of Martin’s whereabouts, rarely giving him the opportunity to get into space.

WATCH THE VIDEO IN OUR PLAYER ABOVE

Ross watching Martin with his back to the play. Source: FOX SPORTS

“Starting in midfield there at the centre bounce side-by-side with Martin. The ball gets kicked St Kilda’s way, St Kilda forward,” King said.

“Look at him — not even watching the ball. He’s turning to see where Martin is. Back to the play, going into his own forward 50, he’s worried about where Martin is.

“The ball spills, St Kilda win it, Martin has to come back to him.

“So the mindset that he’s going to deny Martin at every opportunity is what takes him forward.”

Seb Ross and Dustin Martin in St Kilda's defensive 50 Source: FOX SPORTS

King cited another example when Ross’ teammate Koby Stevens supported the midfielder in making a run the length of the ground to deny Martin space inside the forward 50.

Koby Stevens moves to check Dustin Martin's run Source: FOX SPORTS

“Same thing here, Martin takes off, he slips him by 15 metres,” King said.

“Fantastic team block for Koby Stevens to just check him for a metre or two to give Seb Ross a chance to recover and boy does he recover.

“He goes full length of the ground just to deny Martin an opportunity.”

Ross catches up to Martin in the forward 50 Source: FOX SPORTS

King said Ross’ effort reflected the level of effort the players were inspired to produce under Richardson — and queried why he wasn’t being mentioned as a possible target for other clubs.

“That’s the attitude that Alan Richardson has got these guys playing at — and that’s next-level stuff,” King said.

“Saints fans wouldn’t have seen that before. And I just thought, if that’s where they’re at, why isn’t Alan Richardson in the conversation?

“When we’re talking about Brad Scott for Collingwood and for all these other places ... He’s gone four wins, six-and-a-half, 12, nine and nine (at the moment).

“Nine and six — that is not just development, that’s changing the whole landscape at St Kilda — taking a club that was in a real world of pain (forward).

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“He’s got proven credentials with kids, he’s put a game plan together and the effort I saw on the weekend — forget the scoreline — the effort, I think very few teams have matched this year.

“I found it fascinating and that’s on the back of what Alan demands and what their leaders demand and they’re a club going places.”

King said the Saints should look to lock down Richardson — currently contracted until the end of 2018 — to ward off opposition interest.

“They’ve got to lock him away,” he said.

“I mean, if he’s in the same situation as Brad Scott, he’s a conversation and the Saints can’t afford to lose him and I’d be making sure you lock him away.”