One is a clean skin, the other covered by tattoos.
One revels in the media limelight, the other is reclusive.
One loves the outdoors, the other happier on his couch.
Patrick Dangerfield and Dustin Martin cut contrasting figures off the AFL playing fields.
But on-field, Geelong’s Dangerfield and Richmond’s Martin are linked by their outlandish football talents.
Both carry the AFL premiership hopes of their respective clubs on their shoulders.
Both are similar on-field shining stars.
Both are midfielders gifted with innate ball-winning talents who also are potential game-busters in attack.
Both are roughly built the same: Dangerfield 198cm tall and weighing 92kg; Martin 187cm and 88kg.
Both average roughly the same disposals – Dangerfield 23.44 over his 201-match AFL career; Martin 25.29 in his 176 games.
Both average roughly the same goals per game – Dangerfield 1.14, Martin 1.03.
Both are best and fairest winners at their clubs – Dangerfield at Adelaide and Geelong in consecutive years (2015-16); Martin at Richmond last year.
Both are All Australians – Dangerfield five times, Martin once.
Yet for all their on-field similarity, the decorated duo are chalk and cheese off-field.
Such is Dangerfield’s massive media profile, little isn’t known about the 27-year-old.
From his love of his coastal home hamlet of Moggs Creek in Victoria; his penchant for surfing and fishing; his comedic and impersonation talents – Dangerfield is an open book.
Not so Martin, the 26-year-old who was born in Castlemaine in Victoria’s goldfields region.
He’s the son of a biker who is banned from returning to Australia. But just what makes Martin tick on and off-field is relatively unknown to the public.
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin describes his teammate thus: “A closed book in public but a colourful open book in private.”
“But it is the cover of his book which really throws people,” Martin wrote in a column for News Corp earlier this year.
“Some see scary tattoos and a don’t argue stare.
“But look a little closer and you could see amazing artwork celebrating family and heritage.”
The on-field links between the AFL’s odd couple are expected to take an off-field turn on Monday night.
Dangerfield, the reigning Brownlow medallist, is expected to drape this year’s gong around the tattooed neck of red-hot favourite Martin.
