Brendan Fevola has made staggering claims he has ‘intel’ that Dustin Martin will ‘temporarily’ retire after his 300th AFL game for Richmond before joining the Gold Coast Suns in 2024. Speculation has been rife that Martin will hang up the boots at some stage this year – either after his 300th game or at the end of the season.
The 32-year-old has played 298 career games, but will likely skip one of Richmond’s next two matches because they’re both away games. The Tigers will instead look to play Martin’s 300th game when they take on Hawthorn at the MCG on June 15.
Rumours have been swirling that Martin could pull up stumps and walk away from the AFL after that game. And former AFL player Fevola fuelled that speculation on Tuesday, but added a bombshell twist that his retirement will only be ‘temporary’.
Discussing the situation on The Fox’s ‘Fifi, Fev and Nick’ radio show on Tuesday morning, Fevola claimed Martin’s manager Ralph Carr has been looking at real estate on the Gold Coast in preparation for Martin to re-unite with former Richmond coach Damien Hardwick. “They want to play him at the MCG (against Hawthorn) for his 300th game,” Fevola said. “Dusty has been waiting for his 300th game. There’s a lot of rumours about him and next year, whether he will retire or play somewhere else.
“My mail is that he will retire after he plays his 300th game. Say thank you to the Richmond fans after his 300th. Have a couple of months off. Get fit. Get his head right. His manager has been looking at real estate in the Gold Coast for Dusty to move up and re-kindle his friendship with Damien Hardwick, who now coaches the Gold Coast Suns.
“He’ll be getting paid a lot of money to go up to the Gold Coast, sit at full-forward, help those young kids. they’ve never played finals before in their history. So, they’ll get him up there and be the centre-piece of Queensland football.
“I think the (Richmond) footy club already knows he’s going to leave. They know in their heart of hearts. So, they might say, ‘Hey mate, if you’re leaving – retire. We’ll give you a retirement game.’ He’s out of contract.”
Dustin Martin answers critics with vintage display for Richmond
Martin’s form has been rather underwhelming this year, but he silenced some of his critics with a vintage display against Essendon last weekend. Martin kicked three goals and was a constant problem for the Bombers in the Tigers’ 12-point loss.
Richmond coach Adem Yze praised Martin after the match and said criticism of his form was unfair. “It was just good to see him get some reward out on the field. He’s trying so hard, trying to lead our younger forwards,” Yze said.
“We have a really young forward line at the moment, so synergy can take a little bit of time. He’s been used to playing with the same guys for the last 10 years. We’re not the same team we were five years ago, and we’re dealing with a fair bit, with some injuries.”
Former Richmond captain and Martin’s close friend Trent Cotchin said recently he believes Dusty is capable of playing on. “He’s definitely capable of it – I just don’t know if, (given) the place he is in right now, whether he’s got the energy to do so,” Cotchin said. “It’s hard to comment too far on what he’s going through, but since his old man passed away, it’s been a challenge for Dusty.
“Probably getting himself right is the absolute priority, and I know that the club’s helping him with that. So, to put such a commitment on someone who needs to get himself at his best is a big call and going to be challenging.”