AFL 2024: Richmond superstar Dustin Martin will have round 24 farewell
Richmond supporters will get another chance to farewell Dustin Martin when the Tigers face Gold Coast at the MCG in the final round of the season.
Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale said Martin would attend the round-24 clash to say goodbye to fans after the superstar announced his immediate retirement on Tuesday.
Gale said Martin’s decision to call time on his 302-game career had not come as a surprise, revealing the 33-year-old had been in an “indecisive” state for weeks over his future.
Fronting the media without the elusive Richmond great, Gale said the game had become too “physically and mentally challenging” for Martin to continue on into a 16th season.
“It’s been a work in progress for a little while I guess … there was a meeting with the players this morning,” Gale said.
“He spoke with the players, spoke very well – he was emotional, he spoke of his love for the players, his teammates.
“Dustin loves his teammates and he loves the club. He expressed that, and there were no surprises – just appreciation and gratitude.”
Gale believed Martin had been close to hanging up the boots immediately after his 300th game against Hawthorn that had been a fitting celebration in front of a huge MCG crowd of 92,311.
“It didn’t sit well with him, it was a difficult decision for him to make. The game was hard physically for him to get up each week,” Gale said.
“I just thought (the 300th game) was a wonderful occasion, an incredible occasion and one of those memories people keep forever.
“We wanted him to arrive at the decision in his own way, in his own time. We felt we owed him that, and he was indecisive.”
Gale, who said his favourite Martin moment was his four-goal masterclass in the 2020 grand final, thought the four-time All-Australian still underestimated his own importance to the sport.
“To this day, I don’t think Dustin really understands his standing in our game, in our club and his impact,” he said.
Camera IconRichmond boss Brendon Gale said Martin’s commanding performance to seal his third Norm Smith Medal in the 2020 grand final had been his favourite moment. Sarah Reed Credit: News Corp Australia
“That’s the humility of the man – he’s a man that is incredibly humble despite everything he’s achieved, everything he’s done.
“He’ll be turning up at our round-24 game against Gold Coast at the MCG. There will be another opportunity for him to acknowledge the club and the fans, and importantly they can acknowledge him.
“Look, the 300th game against Hawthorn … it was an incredible occasion, he spoke so sincerely and authentically and it will be hard to match that, but round 24 will be another important occasion.”
Gale reflected on the crossroads Martin found himself at during the 2017 season before he decided to knock back a mammoth contract offer from North Melbourne to remain at Punt Road.
He said Martin agreeing to a deal with the Kangaroos could have been “closer than what I thought”.
“Sometimes players in those situations have a disengaged look about them … I never saw that, I never experienced it,” Gale said.
“We wanted him at the time to explore all the options available to him and make a really, really strong decision, not withstanding the offers that were in front of him.
“He made a really strong decision, didn’t he? And the rest is history.”
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