Dustin Martin

[Tigers of Old]

It's hard to soar like an eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys. Especially when the coach is the king turkey.

Nope don't buy it. Like others he's barely fired a shot in his finals appearances. The really good ones stand up even in losing sides.

FWIW I'd be exactly the same if this was Cotchin, Rance, Deledio or anyone else in this current money grabbing meat market now that is free agency, AFLPA driven.
Have hardened considerably since Richo retired in my love of footballers as individuals these days. If they're only interested in money and success then my loyalty to them is small too.
Stuff the individuals and if they want to leave goodluck to them. Only interested in what is best for the club now so hopefully we get a good return if Martin departs.
The 'hopefully' is the worrying part.

 

[tigermike]

This is the contract to set Dusty up for the rest of his life. Of course he's going to weigh up his options, who wouldn't in his situation? What's he got to fall back on when his career is finished?

Holding off to the end of the season is the right call, and any player manager worth his or her salt would do the same in Dusty's situation. It just means that Dusty won't be hounded by the press at every moment during the year, and if he is, he'll pound out the standard "I love playing for the Tiges, and I just want to concentrate on getting the club back into the finals this year". Meanwhile, negotiations will go on behind the scenes.

I think he'll sign a very large 5 year deal with the Tiges, and be a one club player.

Agree with your assessment but not sure about the deal being as long as 5 years. He's only 25 and with his durability he might play into his mid-30's so even a 5-year deal may not mean he's a one club player. As others have mentioned, our chances of keeping him depend on our on-field performances and this puts appropriate pressure on Dimma and all the coaches to get the right game plan and the right attitude within the playing group. Any repeat of last year's bad attitude will make it easier for Dusty and others to think seriously about leaving.

 

[zgod]

Will be an absolute disaster should he leave. How many times do you have players like jack, rance, chimp, dusty and lids together. We have lost lids already. It would truly be a wasted five years should it all unravel.

 

[cmarkidis]

Will be an absolute disaster should he leave. How many times do you have players like jack, rance, chimp, dusty and lids together. We have lost lids already. It would truly be a wasted five years should it all unravel.

It's not your best 6 that determines the teams fortunes, it's the bottom 6 on the park. This has been one of our biggest problems over the years (combined with dud coaches!).

I wouldn't be bidding Dusty farewell just yet. This and Hardwick's future are a good starting point for Neil Balme's return to Tigerland. Hopefully he can rattle a few cages like he did in his playing days.

 

[Baloo]

If he goes he goes. Let's just make sure the compo we get is good. But it's not the end of the world. The Clangerfield trade to the Cats shows that a club can handle the loss of their #1 gun and continue without too much issue.

But I'd like him to stay.

 

[nswtiger]

I know i dont say this enough but i am with Baloo on this one!

 

[easy_tiger]

I think he'll sign a very large 5 year deal with the Tiges, and be a one club player.

yeah. 5 at $4m would do it. we'd have the cap space wouldnt we? I dont think hes gonna gonna command Buddy or Gablett rival offers.

Give his old man the NZ academy boss job if things get tight. :hihi

 

[Leysy Days]

yeah. 5 at $4m would do it.

No wouldn't unless we go well ILHO.

Change the 4 to a 5 as we stand.

 

[easy_tiger]

No wouldn't unless we go well ILHO.

Change the 4 to a 5 as we stand.

maybe. I'd reckon ballpark we'd have offered 5 at 4m, and yeah, he probs reckons 5 at 5m, and by the time we win the flag and he does the maths on moving to Sydney, he signs for 5 at $4.2m.

I'd put my lefty on the fact that Sydney will offer the world, given 1. they buy whoever they want and 2. they offered us a 2 for 1 top 10 pick deal to try draft him originally.

 

[tigersnake]

Nope don't buy it. Like others he's barely fired a shot in his finals appearances. The really good ones stand up even in losing sides.

I'm a huge Dusty fan, I love him, but can't help but agree Oldie. Your earlier comparison with Bont was a very good, and uncomfortable one. Dusty is billed and paid as if he's up in Bont's league. If he produced and led in finals as much as Bont did at the same age, I reckon the 13 and 15 EF results could well have been reversed.

SCOOP asked 'how many win finals off their own boot?, rare as hens teeth'. Its true. But that is the expectation with players like Dusty and Bont. While Bont may not have won the game/s off his own boot, he stood up when it counted and then some. And for me FWIW in the norm Smith 1, Boyd, 2. Bont.

 

[easy_tiger]

I'm a huge Dusty fan, I love him, but can't help but agree Oldie. Your earlier comparison with Bont was a very good, and uncomfortable one. Dusty is billed and paid as if he's up in Bont's league. If he produced and led in finals as much as Bont did at the same age, I reckon the 13 and 15 EF results could well have been reversed.

SCOOP asked 'how many win finals off their own boot?, rare as hens teeth'. Its true. But that is the expectation with players like Dusty and Bont. While Bont may not have won the game/s off his own boot, he stood up when it counted and then some. And for me FWIW in the norm Smith 1, Boyd, 2. Bont.

I reckon if we can graft our way into a GF (which we could and should have done 2015), Dusty will do a Bont.

The way he was played last year, with the whip round the back cheap possessions, was like driving a Maserati to Aldi to buy some sh!t tasting corn chips dripping with palm oil, instead of taking it down the Great Ocean Road.

But, yeah, I get the argument. Very few of our list will be considered big game players until we go deep into Sept.

 

[nqtiger]

yeah. 5 at $4m would do it. we'd have the cap space wouldnt we? I dont think hes gonna gonna command Buddy or Gablett rival offers.

Give his old man the NZ academy boss job if things get tight. :hihi

we have just signed prestia on similar money, prestia who has played only half the games the last three years due to injury, dusty is worth 1mill + just coming into his prime.

don't try and low ball him, discount dan is no longer the decision maker

 

[nqtiger]

I'm a huge Dusty fan, I love him, but can't help but agree Oldie. Your earlier comparison with Bont was a very good, and uncomfortable one. Dusty is billed and paid as if he's up in Bont's league. If he produced and led in finals as much as Bont did at the same age, I reckon the 13 and 15 EF results could well have been reversed.

SCOOP asked 'how many win finals off their own boot?, rare as hens teeth'. Its true. But that is the expectation with players like Dusty and Bont. While Bont may not have won the game/s off his own boot, he stood up when it counted and then some. And for me FWIW in the norm Smith 1, Boyd, 2. Bont.

barrot

 

[turk-d-tiger]

For me Dusty is worth $850k a year to stay at Richmond , $1 million a year to move to another club = $150k difference and $90 after Tax a year

I would do what it takes to keep him for 850-900k for the following reasons

* Salary cap will increase and players know it and 850 today is 1 million in 2 years time
*Dusty is our best player (along with Rance)
*We just paid $750k to get prestia and Dusty is right in wanting a retirement package for his future

But my biggest reason is that we have so much *smile* on the list that we can move and replace with new draftee's and not even miss a beat
Hampson,Lennon,Elton,Hunt,Maric, thats 1.2-1.4 mil just there

 

[easy_tiger]

we have just signed prestia on similar money, prestia who has played only half the games the last three years due to injury, dusty is worth 1mill + just coming into his prime.

don't try and low ball him, discount dan is no longer the decision maker

I agree dont lowball dusty.

and I know im going out on a limb here, but I reckon Prestia will be just as important to us over the next 5 as Dusty. Plus you have to pay overs to get a bloke to move.

havnt we got a warchest AND a whole heap of blokes on ordinary $$$?

we'd only have Chimp, Dusty, Rance, Jack and Dion on $600+ a year, and the bulk of the other blokes in our best 22 on average of $250?

I dont really get TPP's, but we should have heaps of room to move and fend off the likes of Swans and Hawks shouldnt we?

on that last point, Swans and HAwks have to be cheating the TPP and Cap dont they?

 

[btoz_01]

If he stays great but like some have already said let the other dozen or so clubs fight for his services and pay us overs in terms of a trade.......2 first rounders(1 top 3 pick)nothing less. then we raid this years draft for 2-3 key talls and a mid.

Dusty is our BIG FISH and if goes we get early picks and start a rebuild. I dont expect Rance who will be 28 or Riewoldt 29 in 2017 to want to stick around and miss out on possible at another club
If youre one of the ones prepared to let Dusty go for picks and he was a restricted free agent at another club, what deal would you be offering him to play for us?

 

[nqtiger]

I agree dont lowball dusty.

and I know im going out on a limb here, but I reckon Prestia will be just as important to us over the next 5 as Dusty. Plus you have to pay overs to get a bloke to move.

havnt we got a warchest AND a whole heap of blokes on ordinary $$$?

we'd only have Chimp, Dusty, Rance, Jack and Dion on $600+ a year, and the bulk of the other blokes in our best 22 on average of $250?

I dont really get TPP's, but we should have heaps of room to move and fend off the likes of Swans and Hawks shouldnt we?

on that last point, Swans and HAwks have to be cheating the TPP and Cap dont they?

The warchest is empty, the swans have a variable cap (ie AFL).

we have to pay a minimum so spuds get great packages,

there are a lot of supporters suggesting we offer 100 less than rival offers for him, doesn't make sense to try and lowball one of our few guns, given we paid a bloke 600 to not pull on the boots.

 

[easy_tiger]

The warchest is empty, the swans have a variable cap (ie AFL).

we have to pay a minimum so spuds get great packages,

there are a lot of supporters suggesting we offer 100 less than rival offers for him, doesn't make sense to try and lowball one of our few guns, given we paid a bloke 600 to not pull on the boots.

thats a grim picture you paint NQ.

Like ive said alot, im a big fan of Dion's, but I'd have expected a few dragoons left in the chest????

 

[The_General]

I think we're in a no lose situation here.

"Say what," you ask?

I say yes, no lose situation. You heard right.

If we retain Dusty, we’ve kept a quality player in the prime of his career. We’re meant to do this.
If we lose Dusty, well in honesty, it’s probably because we’re no good.

And if we lose him because we’re no good, then we’ll need the draft picks to rebuild after Hardwick. It will force the club to rebuild.
It’ll hurt through the gate and in the merchandise areas, but we get 4 picks inside 20 for example, it’s like déjà vu from the Deledio\tambling era.

However, this time we’ll have decent players to build upon, not a football wasteland. We’ll be able to take some quality key players and maybe a gun midfielder.
That would do us OK in the long term.

 

[easy_tiger]

I think we're in a no lose situation here.

"Say what," you ask?

I say yes, no lose situation. You heard right.

If we retain Dusty, we’ve kept a quality player in the prime of his career. We’re meant to do this.
If we lose Dusty, well in honesty, it’s probably because we’re no good.

And if we lose him because we’re no good, then we’ll need the draft picks to rebuild after Hardwick. It will force the club to rebuild.
It’ll hurt through the gate and in the merchandise areas, but we get 4 picks inside 20 for example, it’s like déjà vu from the Deledio\tambling era.

However, this time we’ll have decent players to build upon, not a football wasteland. We’ll be able to take some quality key players and maybe a gun midfielder.
That would do us OK in the long term.

cant agree. If we lost Lids (which was a Positive IMO) and Dusty in consecutive years, tens of thousands of kids, and middle-aged men, would be seriously disillusioned.

Lets nip this debate in the bud.

Dusty is a once a generation player. He stays.

If he goes, I'll stab myself in the heart with a chopstick out the front of PRO. I'll use the thick end, so it only sort of bruises the rib.