The last time Matt de Boer went to Dustin Martin, mayhem ensued.

Will the ramifications be even more profound when the GWS tagger tries to shut down the Richmond star in Saturday’s AFL grand final?

Martin was driven to distraction when the Giants convincingly beat Richmond at home in round three.

He was suspended for striking Adam Kennedy off the ball and also fined for flipping the bird, as well as making snorting gestures at Giants ruckman Shane Mumford.

Martin apologised on social media for his meltdown.

There might be more fallout at Monday’s Brownlow Medal count.

Martin’s suspension made the 2017 winner ineligible for this year’s edition.

While he will undoubtedly poll well again, it has been 22 years since a suspended player topped the count.

Not that the Brownlow will bother Martin too much – he and de Boer will be focused on Saturday’s premiership decider.

It will be a major surprise if de Boer does not tag Martin, given he shut down the Tigers’ midfield ace to only 15 disposals in their round-three clash.

It was Martin’s second-lowest possession count in a game this season.

His “worst” game for disposals was 14 in the qualifying final win over Brisbane, where Martin starred with six goals.

There was no re-match when Richmond beat GWS at the MCG in round 17, because de Boer was out for two months with a shoulder injury.

That was also the game in which the Giants lost Stephen Coniglio to a knee injury.

But the Giants are a much-stronger proposition now, having steamrolled through their three finals.

A major factor has been de Boer – in successive weeks, he has played on Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli, Brisbane dynamo Lachie Neale and Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury.

All three were kept to less than 20 disposals.

Pendlebury had his moments on Saturday, but he gave de Boer the points.

“It was a good tussle. It’s an important role that he plays for the balance of their midfield,” he said.

“Those conditions sort of lended themselves to that real grind – he knows where I’m going to be; I know where he’s going to be.

“It was a good battle and he got the points.”