Dustin Martin leads Richmond to huge win over St Kilda to secure top 4 finish

ANOTHER week, another stunning Dustin Martin performance. But even by his own lofty standards, Sunday at the MCG was special as he lifted the Tigers into the top four.

Dustin Martin was outstanding on Sunday. Picture: AAP Images

IF there’s a first-class ticket still available between Melbourne and Auckland on Monday, Richmond star Dustin Martin deserves the 1A seat with all the spoils.

The Tigers are in the top four but have a bigger game in play this bye week — keeping hold of their star midfielder.

The reality is, the Tigers can’t up their offer of $1.1 million a year for seven years to Martin.

It’s now up to the inked-up superstar to decide if he wants to ride the Tiger train into the finals and beyond.

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Almost 70,000 people packed themselves right to the back row to witness his dominance on the MCG on Sunday — you don’t get that at many clubs on a Sunday afternoon.

It’s now a bullet train — destination September.

And on Sunday, Martin donned the conductor’s hat over a fresh mohawk cut and ramped it up to top speed to drag the Tigers to a double-chance.

Martin will on Monday travel to New Zealand to consult with his father Shane — with the aid of his manager, Ralph Carr — on his future.

Dustin Martin breaks a tackle on Sunday. Picture: Michael Klein

Club great Matthew Richardson offered his take on Sunday, following reports that North Melbourne has offered Martin a deal worth $2.8 million more over the seven years.

He could be a club great, Richardson said, and it’s not just about money.

“There’d be “boundless opportunities” and it would “all even out in the long run”.

“If you do the pros and cons you would then go ‘to stay at Richmond for seven years, I’ll end up retiring at Richmond an all-time great of the club’,” Richardson said on 3AW.

“(He’ll think) I’ll be a 300-game player … I may well be a Brownlow medallist. I’ll have won three or four Jack Dyer medals.

“I will be loved by a huge fan base. I will have been in a stable place. And I will have boundless opportunities moving forward because of the 15 or 16 years that I’ve had at one football club.

“My life will be pretty secure with that.”

Jack Riewoldt (left) and Trent Cotchin celebrate a goal on Sunday. Picture: AAP Images

When cabin doors are armed and cross-checked on Monday, Dustin Martin can put the noise-cancelling headphones on and relax as he crosses the Tasman.

He earned it, with 36 touches and two monster goals — one from outside 55 metres that rattled the foundations of the ‘G and another banana-kick on the run from one grab in the final term.

He wasn’t the only one as Richmond flicked the switch on an electric performance that will bring spades of momentum to take into the bye week.

Looking in the rear view mirror to the dominance against the Saints will be far more forgiving than winding the clock further back.

They haven’t, after all, won a final for 16 years. It was 2001, the same year as their last top-four finish.

There might be a few brown paper bags being purchased by Tiger fans this week.

But watching Sunday would have allayed a few nerves.

The Tigers’ new-look of 2017 went to a new level — they were fast, clean, pressure-driven and full of flair.

The Tigers and their fans are pumped for September. Picture: Michael Klein

Handy tools in the belt for blockbuster finals footy when they face the Cats in a fortnight.

St Kilda played a man down for most of the afternoon after skipper Jarryn Geary was concussed, but struggled to find spark.

They refused to lie down in the third quarter to give the game some life, getting within four goals after falling as far as 50 points behind, but were punished late.

The train rolls on. Strap yourself in.