AFL 2024: Gold Coast and Dustin Martin mutual interest draws criticism
A premiership winning former AFL coach fears Gold Coast’s interest in Dustin Martin could backfire for the club with its current players.
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Former Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos has warned bringing Dustin Martin on board could spark disillusionment within Gold Coast’s playing ranks.
The Suns last week confirmed they were in talks with Martin regarding a potential extension of his AFL career after the triple Norm Smith medallist retired with three games remaining in the Tigers’ season.
Roos said if he was senior coach Damien Hardwick, he would not entertain a move for the 33-year-old despite his believed interest in a move north.
“If I’m coaching the Suns, I’m ringing Dusty saying, ‘mate, great career, fantastic, if you ever want a ticket to a game come up, we’d love to host you. You’ve been an icon of the game, ride off into the sunset’,” Roos told the ABC’s AFL Daily podcast.
“He’s retired, he’s given all he can to the Richmond Football Club, I don’t know what Damien Hardwick is thinking … but I’m sending him a text saying … ‘you’ve been hard to coach against but it’s been great to watch you play, all the best for the future’.”
Roos said current Gold Coast players could be unhappy with the club seeking out a retired player, regardless of Martin’s past achievements.
“It’s so interesting, particularly when he’s retired, that’s the added factor to it. If he had played 20 games this year and the Suns had talked him into going up there, this may be a different conversation,” Roos said.
“We’re (recruiting) a player that’s retired a Richmond legend, does it send the wrong message? Probably – it probably does a bit, it sends to your team that ‘I’m not confident in you, I’m now going to get a player that’s in retirement … to come out and get us where we want to get to’.
“Unless Dimma (Hardwick) has gone to the leadership group, or the leadership group has gone to Dimma and said ‘we want Dustin Martin’ – without that conversation, I think it sends the wrong message.”
Gold Coast has been focused heavily on its back half since the season’s end and is poised to bring in both Daniel Rioli (Richmond) and John Noble (Collingwood) via trade.
Key defender Charlie Ballard joined fellow tall Mac Andrew in making a long-term commitment to the Suns as he penned an extension through to the end of 2029 on Tuesday.
Originally published as AFL 2024: Gold Coast and Dustin Martin mutual interest draws criticism
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