Richmond has reached its limit on Dustin Martin and it shouldn't and can't do any more for himAugust 24, 2017
Jake Niall
FOX SPORTSTHE Richmond Football Club has bent over backwards to accommodate Dustin Martin and if the Tigers bend any further they will contort themselves into a position where something breaks.
They have reached the point where there is little more they can do to satisfy “Dusty.’’ They are in his hands, and now can only hope that he accepts what is already a monstrous offer, believed to be an average of close to $1.1m over seven years.
The Tigers, once confident about retaining Martin, have become fatalistic.
They cannot pay Martin the $1.5m over seven years that North Melbourne is said to be preparing to offer — terms that we assume to be subject to Giant Josh Kelly spurning North’s nine year, $10m offer.
They must prepare contingency plans for losing Martin, while remaining hopeful that he has the good sense to accept a deal that would make him easily Richmond’s highest paid player and one of the top few in the competition.
North, who will vie for the wooden spoon on Saturday, will not contend for the premiership for quite a while. The Roos in are phase one of a rebuild. Their pitch, thus, is largely about money.
I doubt that the presence of Marley Williams, Martin’s close friend, will be as compelling to the Martin camp as the prospect of earning an additional $2.5m-$3m over seven years.
Richmond has paid plenty to Alex Rance, Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt and paid a premium to lure Dion Prestia from the Gold Coast.
If Martin signs, then the wage bill for that quintet will approach or surpass $4m annually.
The Tigers still have a few holes in their playing list, which have been covered for by clever coaching this year.
They could do with another key forward to support Riewoldt, and still have a class deficit in the midfield compared with GWS and Sydney.
Richmond’s accommodation of Martin has involved more than simply increasing the size and length of the contract.
The Tigers have encouraged Martin to regularly visit his deported father Shane during this year, and have steadfastly stated that Martin is entitled to wait and exercise his rights as an uncontracted player.
When it appeared obvious that Gary Ablett was leaving Geelong, his coach Mark Thompson found it difficult to contain his irritation and gave Gazza a few clips in public.
The Tigers, conversely, have never expressed any misgivings about Martin or his management during this season-long saga, despite the vexed dealings that the Tigers had with his manager, Ralph Carr, in the past.
Nor, from what one can gather, have they fallen for the cheap trick of getting team mates to put the pressure on Dusty to stay — a practice that can backfire in this era of free agency and the empowered player.
Careful not to inflame the Martin camp, the Tigers have muttered under their breath about the AFL’s free agency system — which would see them receive only Pick 16 on current ladder positions — rather than denigrating the Brownlow Medal favourite.
Martin and his management have stuck firmly to their position that they would not make a call until the end of the season.
This is not what the Tigers wanted, but like speech that one disagrees with, they have defended his right to do so.
Soon, Martin will have to decide what motivates him.
If he wants to maximise his earnings, then it’s almost certain he’ll be gone and you will soon hear the sound of number 4s being untimely ripped from Richmond jumpers across suburban Melbourne.
If his current team mates, winning finals in the short-term and sticking with a club that reared and protected him matters most, then he will stay.
Richmond, though, has no further choices to make. It has given enough ground and can only wait and hope.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/richmond-has-reached-its-limit-on-dustin-martin-and-it-shouldnt-and-cant-do-any-more-for-him/news-story/5f2c94a1c2708eb63871893c0fac04da
