WHERE DUSTY’S SUITORS ARE AT
GOLD Coast would be a potential suitor for Dustin Martin if he wanted to move north as Damien Hardwick made clear he expected his star midfielder to remain at Punt Road next year.
Martin on Thursday night kicked an early goal but otherwise showed the understandable signs of a nineweek layoff with a hamstring injury in Richmond’s nailbiting loss to Brisbane.
The media-shy Martin has yet to give a definitive update on his future with some reports that he might want to escape the Victorian fishbowl given the intense media speculation about every aspect of his life.
He will speak to AFL investigators in coming days about the context of a 2015 incident where he touched the breast of a woman at a Sporting Globe private function organised by players.
Gold Coast believes Martin will still stay at Richmond but the Suns would be open to a conversation with the triple Norm Smith Medallist if he wanted to escape Melbourne.
Hardwick has previously said whatever Martin wants will be supported by the club in terms of his future but he was more emphatic on Thursday night.
“He’s got two years of his contract to run, so as far as I’m concerned, all the speculation comes from the people sitting over that side of the table (media). If you guys keep talking about it, it creates speculation,’’ he said.
“The reality is, I’m telling you that he’s got two more years of his contract. He’s not going anywhere.’’
Hardwick said Martin handled the furore swirling around him over the controversial video as best he could.
“We worry about the welfare of our players. But he manages to control that and gets on with it,’’ he said.
It’s understood Martin’s closest mates believe he is happy in Melbourne and comfortable in the Punt Road environment despite his regular trips to Sydney.
The Tigers could choose to give Martin an extended break away from football but with the finals exit he already has a full three-month break until an early December return to training.
With the Suns having recently lost star goalsneak Izak Rankine to Adelaide, there is a need for star power and marketability at the Suns.
The Suns have a tight cap and are keen to save pennies for the contracts of Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell (out at the end of 2023) but clearly all bets would be off with Martin.
There has been no contact between Martin and the Suns as he deals with his hamstring recovery.
But if the Gold Coast senior leadership group made clear Martin was a priority, there would be a way to afford him.
Rankine’s budgeted $650,000 salary is spare, although the Suns do need to find some running half backs to cover for their trio of ACL victims.
Sydney is on the record as not wanting to explore any trade with Martin and GWS can’t afford him despite football boss Jason Mccartney saying mid-year the club would never rule out Martin if he was keen.
But while Richmond believes the very strong likelihood is that he will remain at Richmond, it still means there is a potential suitor if he decides to get out of Dodge City.
The Suns are working on a oneyear deal for Levi Casboult after his exceptional season kicking 35.22 despite a banged-up knee.
The Suns have also cooled on Dyson Heppell given they need speed out of half back while Wil Powell, Connor Budarick and Lachie Weller recover from ACL tears and the Essendon captain doesn’t fit the bill
News Corp raised the possibility of back-up forward Josh Corbett moving to a rival club last month, with Fremantle now identified as an interested party in the high energy goal kicker.