A MILESTONE game is one that a player will usually look back on with fond memories.

One they won’t easily forget as they look back on their careers.

For Jack Martin, there is one certainty. He will never forget the night of his 100^th game.

Played under unique circumstances, Martin made the trip down the highway where he and his teammates faced the ominous task of taking on Geelong at home.

Heading into the game, Geelong had won 90 of their previous 100 games at Kardinia Park and had not lost to Carlton since Round 10, 2016.

Carrying the pressure from a narrow loss to Melbourne the week before, Carlton was eager to start the game off on the right foot and register its first win of the season against all odds.

The Blues’ intent from the first bounce was clear, as they stunned the opposition with clean and measured possession and relentless pressure around the contest.

“I thought pre-game, the boys were on mentally,” Martin said following the game.

“The energy was good. The last couple of weeks, we’ve been off with our starts.

“We knew if we could bring the pressure early, hit the scoreboard and put the pressure on them, we’d be able to go a long way to getting the win.”

Despite leading by 42 points at one stage, the game would come down to the wire with Geelong putting on a last-quarter comeback to give themselves the opportunity to steal the game.

With the game in the balance, Martin - who played predominantly in midfield - was a crucial part in the final play that ultimately handed Carlton its first win at the ground since 1996.

“My heart’s still beating,” he said. 

“Looking up on the scoreboard, they were coming. We’ll look at the tape this week and see where we can rectify that. 

“Four points, it doesn’t matter how you win. We’ll take that and move onto next week.”

The current restrictions in place due to COVID-19 meant that Martin’s family were unable to join him at the game for the celebrations.

However, his partner Brittany made sure that the milestone man still knew his loved ones would be cheering him on.

On the morning of the game, she surprised him with custom-painted boots which paid homage to both his heritage as well as the time he spent playing with the Gold Coast Suns.

“My partner organised this for me. I knew nothing about it,” he said of his boots.

“Obviously they’ve got the two different colours, one with the Suns which has got 97 on the back — I played 97 games for the Suns. Then the Navy Blue with the number three on them, I didn’t know anything about it.

“It was a good surprise: she’s amazing. She does a lot of that stuff for me.”

Celebrating both his 100^th game and his first win in the Navy Blue, Martin’s smile following the game showed exactly how much this day had meant to him.

It gave many Carlton fans a taste of what is hopefully still to come (although, next time, we hope Jack has learned the words to the song!).

“It was sung with a lot of passion: it was funny, I didn’t even know the words. I was just miming along,” Martin said.

“As a junior, you dream of playing one game. To play 100 definitely means a lot: 97 for the Suns and three for the Blues. I’m looking forward to the next 100.”

Go behind the scenes of Martin's 100th game with this week's edition of Spotlight, a weekly feature on Carlton Media.