AFL 2024: Richmond coach Adem Yze expected Dustin Martin retirement

Richmond coach Adem Yze has revealed when he found out Tigers superstar Dustin Martin was walking away from the game.

Richmond coach Adem Yze is disappointed he only had Dustin Martin in his side for 13 games but says he was not surprised by the superstar’s decision to retire.

Yze said Martin’s typically low-key departure from the game was “sad in a way”, but the Tigers would continue to celebrate his decorated career for the rest of the season.

The coach said he was unaware of the 33-year-old’s plan to retire until the day after Saturday’s loss to North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.

“In the end, I’ve only known him for 12 months, and it’s sad in a way looking at the vision,” Yze said on Thursday.

“He did it in true Dusty fashion – he’s been toying with that decision for a few weeks now.

First-year Richmond coach Adem Yze (left) says it was clear Dustin Martin (right) was carrying a heavy burden as he decided on his future this season. Picture: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

“He’s been battling a bit, he’s been trying so hard for his footy club and for his teammates.

“He wanted to get another win, but the weight of that decision finally has been a little bit too much and he gets to move on.”

Yze said a final game at the MCG would have been a “fairytale” end to Martin’s career, but he said the moment with fans during the round-24 fixture against Gold Coast would still be a special memory.

“Well, he’s played 300 and something games, that’s a lot of times to see him out there,” Yze said when asked if Tigers fans would be disappointed.

“A fairytale would’ve been to have an MCG send-off, but to see him walking around after the Hawthorn game and wave to the crowd, but then get the opportunity to still get back and try to play … he just wanted to keep not only competing but just try to finish off the season, but that just got too much for him.

Yze said Martin’s remarkable ability to win one-on-one contests made him one of the most difficult players for opposition teams to plan for. Picture: Michael Willson / Getty Images

“It will be nice to see him walk around and wave to the Tiger Army in the last game. He’ll obviously talk to the media that day no doubt, so they’ll get to send him off in the right way.”

Yze said Martin’s remarkable strength and his ability to be a “menace” in the forward half had made him a “hard player to scout” while he was an assistant at Hawthorn and Melbourne earlier in the superstar’s career.

“I remember scouting games where I’d be sitting in the stands at the MCG looking down and he’s got an opponent on him,” Yze said.

“It would be a big opponent – and he’d just be calling for the ball as if, ‘just kick me the ball, I’ll beat this guy’.

“It wasn’t an arrogance thing – he just knew that he could win contests every time the ball was in his area.”