Dustin Martin's contract talk thread / Dusty a Tiger for next 7 years [update]

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Mario is a beauty

[🏅Dooks]

Mario is a Melbourne member and does not support Richmond.

[Dougeytherichmondfan]

Mario is a Melbourne member and does not support Richmond.

Have heard this from a few sources. Didnt he prove it (being a Richmond supoorter) last year?

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Mario is a Melbourne member and does not support Richmond.

Doesn't dilute his funniness

[torch]

Will Dustin sign with us?

[Rodgerramjet]

Will Dustin sign with us?

Nobody knows with any real certainty, i don't even think Dustin knows himself right at this moment, but if it drags on into the finals then i think we can kiss his arse goodbye and then i would chase Hopper and Kennedy both.

[Francois Jackson]

RICHMOND will be armed with three first-round draft picks and a recruiting warchest if raging Brownlow Medal favourite Dustin Martin accepts North Melbourne’s godfather offer.

The Herald Sun understands the Tigers will not match the Kangaroos’ contract, believed to be more than $10 million over seven seasons, for their restricted free agent.

On Tuesday, the AFL confirmed the maximum compensation the Tigers could receive for Martin would be a first-round pick tied to their ladder finish.

Rival list chiefs suggested the Tigers could then bank the cash saved on Martin and spend 12 months plotting a raid for Gold Coast superstar Tom Lynch.

The Suns’ co-captain becomes a restricted free agent next year and his retention could make or break the struggling franchise.

Landing Lynch, from Sorrento, would also ease the pressure on Jack Riewoldt, who will turn 31 in 2019.

Tom Lynch has been labelled the game’s best player by former players.

Lynch, 24, was labelled the game’s No.1 player by Jonathan Brown and Dermott Brereton and could command the largest contract in the game’s history when his Gold Coast deal expires.

Richmond’s desire to lure a power forward was laid bare when the club confirmed its interest in No.2 draft pick Josh Schache.

Schache, 20, re-signed with the Brisbane Lions in June.

Richmond already owns Geelong’s first-round pick, which was received for losing Brett Deledio to GWS last October.

Based on current ladder order, losing Martin would deliver the Tigers picks 15 (their own selection), 16 (Martin compensation) and 17 (Geelong’s selection).

They have not boasted such a strong draft hand since activating five top-20 picks — led by Deledio at No.1 — in 2004.

One of their early selections would likely be used to match an expected first-round bid for father-son gun Patrick Naish.

The Kangaroos’ desperation to land a big fish has seen them up their offer for Martin as hope of trading for Greater Western Sydney’s Josh Kelly starts to wane.

The Herald Sun recently revealed the cashed-up Kangas had enough salary cap space and board approval to poach both midfielders.

The Tigers are not prepared to sell the farm to keep Martin given Riewoldt, Brownlow Medallist Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance and prized recruit Dion Prestia are also on wealthy deals.

Martin and manager Ralph Carr will travel to New Zealand during the pre-finals bye to visit Martin’s father in a meeting expected to be pivotal to the explosive midfielder’s decision.

List expert Gary Buckenara recently said the Roos had to blow Richmond’s offer away by about $400,000 per season to lure Martin.

That discrepancy now seems a real prospect given the Tigers’ final offer is in the vicinity of $1.1 million per season.

“They need to do something pretty big … and get a big deal done for their own credibility,” Buckenara said.

Kangas legend Wayne Carey said his former club’s unprecedented offer for Martin would hamper future list decisions.

“They’d be neglecting their duty. That is too much money for one individual to come to that club,” Carey said on Channel 7.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/richmond-will-be-armed-with-draft-and-free-agency-warchest-if-dustin-martin-joins-north-melbourne/news-story/d13a13ee92a7f42a8541f12d2efb5e66

[Francois Jackson]

certainly armed with a war chest with pick 17

[Slipper]

Rival list chiefs suggested the Tigers could then bank the cash saved on Martin and spend 12 months plotting a raid for Gold Coast superstar Tom Lynch.

 If 'raiding' other teams' lists with massive contract offers is what the future for the AFL is, I am going to become disenfranchised pretty quickly.

[yandb]

Didn't Geelong get 2 1st round picks for Ablett who was on a similar deal?

[Diocletian]

That was under a different system that was only put in place temporarily to specifically accomodate for the new expansion teams and was before free agency.

[one-eyed]

Dustin Martin contract: Richmond star worth every dollar, writes Jon Ralph

JON RALPH,
Herald Sun
23 August 2017

IF you writing a $10 million cheque, you don’t want it to bounce.

This week Richmond’s wasted investment in Chris Yarran has resurfaced at the same time as they are weighing the risks of a Dustin Martin mega-deal.

Should the Tigers match a rival bid at any cost, or is there a breaking point at which Martin’s price becomes overblown?

Time will tell, but paying most 26-year-olds more than $1.2 million over seven years borders on insanity.

Not Dustin Martin.

Martin is about to show his limitations as a marketing figure, set to win every AFL end-of-year award on offer and unlikely to provide a series of riveting interviews.

Already Richmond and media organisations are this week starting to work through how they tackle that challenge, given Martin is the most reluctant of interviewees.

But on every score so far Martin is worth whatever money anyone wants to throw at him.

Few players have provided the bang for buck Martin has, the durability, the star power, the membership draw, the consistent matchwinning performances.

There is a strong argument to say that Martin has been among the four most consistent players in the AFL these past eight seasons.

He’s clearly not the greatest — September heroics play a part in that judgment.

Yet if you were considering the risk-reward proposition of signing him on a seven-year deal of $8.4 million or above, he ticks every box.

In those eight seasons he has played 174 of a possible 178 games, rested by the club once in his first year and forced to serve a two-week internal suspension in 2012.

He also missed Round 22, 2014 with a minor hamstring injury that was as much of a freshener as anything else.

That’s it.

He doesn’t get suspended (touch wood), doesn’t get injured, just plays to a ridiculously high standard each week.

Only 26 in June, a seven-year deal would see him hitting 33 at the end of his contract.

By that stage you can imagine him playing exclusively as a small forward in the mould of Leigh Matthews, kicking his 40 goals a year as a matchwinner.

Martin remains one of the top handful of one-on-one players in the forward 50, likely to be the smaller version of Alastair Lynch ageing gracefully despite a long-term deal.

Aside from 2012’s 10th placed Jack Dyer finish, he has never been out of the top four in seven completed seasons, about to win his second in succession.

He is in the conversation as the most consistent, which is remarkable in itself given his career is only eight years old.

Ahead of him a trio of 29-year-olds have put together some of the most awesome best-and-fairest results you would ever want to consider.

Scott Pendlebury has finished first (five times) or second in every Copeland Trophy since 2010 and might have been leading this year’s until a Round 17 finger injury.

Sydney’s Josh Kennedy hasn’t finished outside the top three since 2010 and will almost certainly win the Bob Skilton Medal again.

And Joel Selwood has finished top three in every Carji Greeves Medal since 2010 except for a sixth-placing in 2011, where he missed six games.

Only the Tigers know whether they have spare salary cap room if they can match an offer that hovers closer to $1.5 million.

As a firebrand teenager no one knew how he would turn out, but you would bet the house on him to remain a power for seven seasons to come.

BEST & FAIREST FINISHES

DUSTIN MARTIN (Richmond)

2010: 4th

2011: 3rd

2012: 10th

2013: 2nd

2014: 3rd

2015: 2nd

2016: 1st

2017: Likely 1st

JOSH KENNEDY (Sydney)

2010: 3rd

2011: 2nd

2012: 1st

2013: 3rd

2014: 2nd

2015: 1st

2016: 1st

2017: Likely 1st

JOEL SELWOOD (Geelong)

2010: 1st

2011: 6th (Missed 5 games)

2012: 2nd

2013: 1st

2014: 1st

2015: 3rd

2016: 2nd

2017: Will miss too many games

SCOTT PENDLEBURY (Collingwood)

2010: 2nd

2011: 1st

2012: 2nd

2013: 1st

2014: 1st

2015: 1st

2016: 1st

2017: Will miss too many games

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/expert-opinion/jon-ralph/dustin-martin-is-worth-every-dollar-clubs-throw-at-him-writes-jon-ralph/news-story/d70ac6b0bba70ea4672aea2f4bdbc120

[georgies31]

Gez a first round pick tied to our ladder position for the best player in the competition last 2 seasons how do these clowns make the rules in that circus.Make Roos trade for him there first round pick and a gun player.

[Rodgerramjet]

I think what we are going to witness here is a big win for Ralph Carr, he will be a big winner no matter which way this deal goes because a deal of this magnitude will give him credibility in player circles, I can see his stable increasing in size with this deal albeit he screwed us in money, time and adequate preperation and ground work to set up an acceptable replacement/s for Dustins departure.

[Francois Jackson]

Didn't Geelong get 2 1st round picks for Ablett who was on a similar deal?

If indeed he does leave you have to just smirk.

First Brownlow medalist to leave after just winning?
First one to leave to a club who finishes last, giving us zero pull
Average draft which our recruiting gurus normally screw up

So Richmond

Gez a first round pick tied to our ladder position for the best player in the competition last 2 seasons how do these clowns make the rules in that circus.Make Roos trade for him there first round pick and a gun player.

We are going to get royally screwed if he walks. They won't trade pick 1/2 thus leaving us with a second rounder (19)

Can't see them offer next years first as he can walk for free.