Richmond chief Brendon Gale has hosed down whispers of a shock Sydney move for Tigers superstar Dustin Martin, saying he expects the Norm Smith medallist to remain at Punt Road beyond his current contract.
The AFL rumour mill was cranked into overdrive at the weekend when Martin’s manager Ralph Carr spoke of his star’s love for Sydney and his childhood upbringing in NSW.
When pressed on Martin playing for the Swans, Carr told The Daily Telegraph: “I can’t say, that’s a big question. He’s got two years to go at Richmond and it’s too early to say where he might finish up.”
In 2017, Martin turned down a lucrative offer from North Melbourne to remain the Tigers on a monster seven-year deal before going on to win three premierships to date with the club.
But according to Martin’s manager, the three-time Norm Smith Medallist has only “two years” remaining at Richmond, which would align with the end of Lance Franklin’s nine-year mega-contract in 2022.
Addressing the rumours head-on, Gale told 3AW’s Sportsday: “Very interesting article … I could imagine they (Swans fans) would be (excited). I’m not sure the veracity of the article.
“Firstly, Dustin’s contracted to 2024. What I will say is Dustin is extremely professional in his approach to the game, he’s extremely competitive, an extremely proud competitor.
“He signed a seven-year contract with us at the end of 2017 – and I’m confident he’ll play beyond that and my expectation will be that it’ll be at Richmond. So I’ll leave it at that.”
The original report by the Telegraph claims Martin wants to become the AFL’s version of Tom Brady, who recently won an NFL championship in Tampa Bay after departing New England where he spent 20 seasons with the franchise.
