https://twitter.com/BrissieLiveNews/status/892296141697564672
Do you read anything into that if it is true?
If Dusty is re-signing just before the finals then you'd think that means he's staying. Having said that the end of the season is when our season is finished so Dusty may wait until after the finals.
Richmond Tiger Dustin Martin's contract decision likely before finals, says Ralph CarrJon Pierik
The Age
2 August 2017The intrigue over Dustin Martin's future continues, with his manager suggesting the star Richmond midfielder will make a call on his future by the start of the finals.
Fairfax Media reported last week that the Tigers had upped their offer to the Brownlow Medal favourite to six years and up to $1.2 million a season – although that might still not be enough to retain him.
Martin and his manager Ralph Carr had said they would wait until the end of the season to make a call but, with no indication that he will stay, and recent rumblings that he will leave, the final month of the home-and-away campaign will be a nervous one at Punt Road.
Martin would also have the option of delaying his call until after the Tigers' finals campaign is over. This could be a deep run, and potentially leave the awkward situation of Martin winning the Brownlow yet not being able to say where he will play next season.
However, Carr told Fairfax Media that a decision would likely be made in the break between round 23 and the start of the finals.
"It's in Dustin's court. I am sure at the right time he will say to me: 'Right, we are ready, let's review it'. But he always said at the end of the season. I dare say that's at the end of the home-and-away season, I would think," he said.
"Nothing has changed. As I said last time, Dustin said he would deal with it at the end of the year. I am really just honouring his request. At the moment we are doing just what we should be doing as a manager, that is seeing it through as per Dustin's request."
However, that would potentially be an awkward situation if he was to announce he was leaving just as the Tigers were hoping for a breakthrough finals campaign. If he was to stay, his signature would be a major boost heading into September.
"You would like to do well in the finals but I am just thrilled for Richmond – it's great to be in the top four. The Tigers' supporters have been waiting for this for a long time," Carr said.
There have been industry rumblings in the past week that Carr had indicated Martin was disappointed with the Tigers' offer and was on the cusp of leaving.
The Tigers are aware of North Melbourne's lucrative, long-term offer, and St Kilda would also have the capacity to pay about $1.5 million a season. Former Essendon coach James Hird wrote over the weekend that the AFL should help to orchestrate a move to Gold Coast.
Melbourne great Garry Lyon said on Footy Classified that "the talk of the last week or so is that financials are going to be pretty important otherwise why would you not sign".
But Carr said he had not discussed Martin's thinking publicly.
"I haven't spoken to a soul about Dustin, not a soul. If someone is going around saying that, it's the usual crap that is going on, with this sort of stuff," he said.
Asked if he was happy with the Tigers' offer, or whether they needed to do more, Carr replied: "I can't talk about any of that. I would be disrespecting Richmond in this particular case."
Should Martin win the Brownlow, he is likely to already have had a bonus clause written into his contract, which could automatically lift the Tigers' offer even further.
On the Kangaroos' offer, it was a similar response. "Not only would I be disrespecting the clubs, I would be disrespecting Dustin," Carr said.
Carr was in Hobart on Saturday and watched a rebuilding North Melbourne, at their surrogate home ground, topple Melbourne. The Roos are after not only a midfield gun but someone who can be a major marketing weapon. All Carr would say about the trip was: "I was just having a look around – watching a good game of footy."
Martin has been handed two fines already this season for on-field misdemeanours and another would mean he was ineligible to win the sport's highest individual honour.
He has handled the speculation on his future with aplomb. The Tigers remain confident he will re-sign and hope to sell him on the prospect that he stands to make up any extra money a rival club may offer by remaining a Tiger and cashing in on the off-field benefits that come from being associated with a big club.
Martin had also wanted to assess where the Tigers were in terms of their list this year. That they shape as finishing in the top four should be a more than encouraging sign for both parties.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-tiger-dustin-martins-contract-decision-likely-before-finals-says-ralph-carr-20170801-gxmu4m.html
