There is a “very high possibility” that Dustin Martin will leave Richmond at the end of the season, according to a prominent AFL reporter.
The Tigers superstar suffered a rare soft tissue injury over the weekend, with a mild complaint to the hamstrings to keep him out of the Round 17 showdown with Gold Coast.
He walked away from Punt Road earlier this year, “taking his time to figure out what he needs to move forward,” according to Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.
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Martin is hired until the end of 2024, but Nine’s Sam McClure suggested the Brownlow medalist’s 13th season in Richmond could be his last.
“As we’re sitting here right now, there’s a big chance Dustin Martin won’t play in Richmond next year,” McClure told 3AW Sportsday.
“I don’t know that part (which club I would go to).
“Sydney is still mentioned. He has had a love for Sydney, Ralph Carr, his manager, has said that. So if he wanted to go to Sydney, Sydney would move heaven and earth to make that possible.
“Damien Hardwick was on the record not long ago who said that if I wanted to leave, I would leave with my blessing.”
Earlier this year, as Martin pondered his future, the Hardwick Tigers coach said he would not stand in the way of Norm Smith’s triple medalist if he wanted to continue his football career outside of Melbourne.
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“What I’m going to say is that he’s a very important player for our football club, both on and off the field, and what he gives us, he’s paid us little by little,” Hardwick said after the injury. Martin’s staff.
“Whatever Dustin’s decision to move forward, it depends on Dustin and, to be honest, he has my blessing. What he has given us, our fans, has been amazing.
“What we get from here is a real advantage, from my point of view, so luckily, like the rest of us, I see him weekly acting and training the way he does.”
Martin has long been associated with a move to New South Wales for family and lifestyle reasons. He spends much of his free time in Sydney and visited GWS facilities in 2013, almost joining the expansion club at the time.
He is owed $ 2.6 million over the next two seasons, making it difficult, but not impossible, for Sydney or GWS to fit him into his salary cap.
“Extend Dustin’s contract, that’s the easy way to do it,” McClure said.
“You pay him $ 1.3 million for two years, you add two years to his back with little money and you get it.
“A four-year contract, give him the extra two. Tell him you’ll probably play full forward. You lead to a situation where Dustin Martin and Lance Franklin play on the same front line for a year: the affiliations are sold alone “.