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December 18, 2021

‘Extremely difficult’: Dustin Martin’s dad dies in New Zealand Dustin Martin with his father Shane Martin in Auckland NZ. for Christmas

Filed under: Outdoors — Tags: — admin @ 4:43 am

The father of Richmond superstar Dustin Martin has died in New Zealand at the age of 54 after being exiled from Australia.

Dustin Martin’s father Shane has died.

Shane Martin passed away in New Zealand on Friday at the age of 54.

The news was confirmed in a statement from Martin’s Richmond football club on Saturday morning.

The Herald Sun reports the club learned of Martin’s death on Friday.

“The Richmond Football Club is mourning the passing of Shane Martin,” the club said.

“The club extends its heartfelt sympathy to Dustin, his brothers Bronson and Tyson, and the entire Martin family in this extremely difficult time.”

New Zealand Police confirmed they attended a property on Friday on the street which Martin lived where a man was located deceased.

There do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances, police said.

The cause of death is not yet known

Shane Martin was deported from Australia in 2016 on the grounds of bad character.

Martin was a top-ranking member of Australia’s Rebels motorcycle gang and had lived in New South Wales since he was 20, after moving from Huntly, New Zealand, in 1989.

Martin previously told The New Zealand Herald he had a history of depression and mental illness.

In 2019 he said his depression had cleared somewhat, but he still desperately missed his three grown sons and two young stepdaughters living in Australia.

“I was depressed and angry for a while and took it out on my wife a bit,” he said.

“It wasn’t her fault but she stood strong. Now we’re living together. We’d just got married, two weeks after that I got deported, separated for nearly three years.”

Martin said he was even thinking of settling in New Zealand, and had come to “love” the country of his birth, but still yearned for the ability to return to Australia to see his kids and watch Dustin play footy.

Martin had his visa cancelled under section 501 of the Australian Immigration Act, which states people can be deported if they have a “substantial” criminal record.

He was also denied entry into Australia last year when he flew into Sydney before being forced to return to Auckland.

The three-time Norm Smith medallist has previously spoken publicly to request permission for his father to be allowed to return to Australia to watch him play during the Tigers’ recent grand final victories.

The 30-year-old footballer told Fox Footy earlier this year it is his dream to win another grand final with his dad watching in the grandstand.

“I love my dad and he’s made me the man I am today,” he said.

“I’ve got full belief he’ll back here to watch us win another flag.

“That’s my dream to be able to have the old man up there (in the grandstand) with the rest of my family and watch the Tiges win another flag.”

Martin in 2017 spoke with emotion about his dad not being there in person to watch the team defeat the Adelaide Crows in the AFL grand final.

“It’s been incredibly hard the last 12 to 18 months not having him here,” Martin said in an interview with Channel 9’s Footy Show.

”He’d love to be here and hopefully he is back here soon.

“It’s been a pretty emotional week seeing him (in New Zealand) he was pretty broken.”

He described his dad as his biggest fan.

Shane Martin also told the iconic football program in 2017: “It’s pretty emotional to see your son developing into something special.

“He is a very humble, shy kid, but the Richmond Football Club has been magnificent for him.”

The football club posted on its official website: “The club extends its heartfelt sympathy to Dustin, his brothers Bronson and Tyson and the entire Martin family.

“We ask the media to respect Dustin and the Martin family‘s privacy in this extremely difficult time.”

The Brownlow medallist was in April granted permission to visit his father in New Zealand in the middle of the AFL season.

Shane Martin had lived in Australia for more than 25 years before his visa was cancelled in 2016.

The family of Shane Martin all live in Australia, including his wife Adriana.

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