Adelaide quash rumours of deal to lure Dustin Martin from Richmond

THE Adelaide Football club on Wednesday night said it had no interest in trying to recruit Richmond’s Dustin Martin to the Crows.

Richmond star Dustin Martin. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

THE Adelaide Football club on Wednesday night said it had no interest in trying to recruit Richmond’s Dustin Martin to the Crows.

The Crows, who have been linked to a $6-million deal with the Tigers’ midfielder, along with Essendon and St Kilda, were quick to deny any connection with Martin’s management.

Crows general manager-list management and strategy, Justin Reid, said any suggestion the Richmond midfielder was being considered is incorrect.

“He is not part of our recruiting and list management discussions,” Reid said.

“To suggest otherwise is incorrect.”

Martin is contracted for the 2017 season and it would seem incredulous the Tigers would want to trade the Jack Dyer Medallist this year.

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The Tigers and Martin’s manager Ralph Carr have scheduled a meeting for today.

A move to extend Martin’s contract in the middle of this season did not eventuate and it’s understood the Tigers postponed those talks.

Martin is a free agent at the end of 2017 and the Tigers will want ensure they sign him as soon as possible. It’s believed Martin was paid between $600,000 and $650,000 this season and a new deal at Richmond would likely see him paid close to $1 million a season.

Dustin Martin won his first best-and-fairest and All-Australian selection this year. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

He is among the top five chances for this year’s Brownlow Medal and has missed just three games since making his debut in 2010. He has played 153 games in total.

Martin is said to be disappointed at the sacking of his long-time mentor Mark Williams, but gave no indication at the club’s best-and-fairest count that his future would not be at Richmond.

“‘Choco’ (Williams) — you’ve helped take my game to another level and I’m going to miss you around the club,” Martin said.

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Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs played a straight bat when asked whether the Crows ought to invest in a back-up ruckman.

“There’s obviously plenty of them (rumours),” Jacobs said. “And obviously there’s a lot more media scrutiny these days and a lot more rumours getting around.

“It’s all part of the business.

“But I’ve got great belief in our list.”

He was similarly circumspect when it came to Brisbane captain Tom Rockcliff, who has been linked to the Crows in a potential trade.

“They’re all hypothetical at this time of year,” Jacobs said. “He’s one who’s been thrown around and I’m sure he’s not the last one either.

“Every club’s got them at the moment. We’ll see what happens with list management.”

Jacobs was confident the club’s premiership window will remain open next year as the Crows yesterday embarked holidays after finishing their individual reviews.

“There’s been a lot of positives this year,” Jacobs said. “We improved our winning record, we improved our offence and also restricted our defence ... there’s definitely a lot of positives from the year.

“Bad performances are going to happen but it’s about overall getting better.

“We’re under no illusions about the areas where we feel we can get better.

“The ladder is probably a good reflection of where we were. We were obviously a good side and able to compete with the good teams but to be able to get to where we want to go we have to get better.”

As for moving on, Jacobs could not speak more highly of the list as they piled up in buses at West Lakes on their way to end-of-season drinks.

He tipped the club would still be a premiership contender in 2017.

“Absolutely — that’s why we’re here,” Jacobs said. “We’re here to play finals and to play on the last day and give ourselves the best chance to do that.

“As a playing group, we’re really driven. We’ve played a lot of footy together and this year was an opportunity ... hopefully we’ll go better next year.”