Dimma was asked about Dusty in his post-game presser:Richmond coach Damien Hardwick insists there was nothing sinister or serious about the Tigers’ surprise call to place Dustin Martin on ice midway through the final quarter of Saturday’s win against Adelaide.
Hardwick didn’t expand on the specifics of Martin’s physical concern but confirmed the short turnaround ahead of this Friday’s MCG blockbuster against high-flying Collingwood played a part in the decision to curtail the 31-year-old’s afternoon.
“It was one of those ones, we had a couple of boys we were talking about in regards to what does it [niggle] look like,” Hardwick said.
“His [substitution] was just from a management point of view. We’ll see how that pans out. Obviously, we’ve got a short break like Collingwood. We’ll work our way through those.”
Martin's benching was a move that was described as "unusual" by Brisbane Lions great Jonathan Brown.
"It would be unusual that he'd be subbed out as a resting mechanism," Brown said on Fox Footy's coverage.
Hardwick's Tigers face a six-day turnaround before a round three blockbuster against the ladder-leading Magpies at the MCG next Friday night.
Sources: AFL &
Nine websites.