Punters jump on Martin
DUSTIN Martin is in big demand — at Richmond, North Melbourne, the media and among AFL punters.
TAB has announced the Tigers midfielder is its shortest-priced Brownlow Medal favourite.
Martin’s outstanding season has firmed his price to $1.12, better than the $1.16 the betting agency offered last season for Patrick Dangerfield. There is also speculation he could top the record 35 votes the Geelong star polled to win last year’s medal.
Dangerfield and Essendon onballer Zach Merrett are ineligible this season because of suspension, adding to Martin’s Brownlow favouritism.
The three players who had the shortest prices in TAB’s Brownlow betting have won the medal — Dangerfield, Fremantle star Nathan Fyfe the year before and Hawthorn’s Shane Crawford in 1999.
Martin is in New Zealand, visiting his father to discuss where he plays beyond this season.
It is a big decision, given North and the Tigers have put seven-year offers in front of him.
The speculation is the Kangaroos are offering Martin a total of $2.8 million more than Richmond.
But the Tigers are focusing on what they can offer Martin to help set him up beyond his playing career.
He becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this season. That means Richmond can match North’s offer, but that is considered unlikely because of what it would do to its salary cap.
Martin is a certainty to make the All-Australian team and he is set to return to Melbourne for the function. AAP