Dustin Martin’s future clouded as Tigers lose wooden spoon playoff

The Richmond Tigers have one hand on the AFL’s wooden spoon but coach Adem Yze revealed there could well be a loss that’ll hurt fans more.

Dustin Martin’s future is still up in the air. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

North Melbourne have seemingly avoided a third wooden spoon in four seasons after winning the likely last-place decider 14.6 (90) to 10.17 (77) against Richmond at Marvel Stadium.

The loss likely condemns the Tigers to their first wooden spoon since 2007 as the side remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder despite a spirited fightback where they registered six consecutive scores to be within seven points with five minutes remaining in the game.

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Five of those scores were behinds however and wayward kicking - in front of goal and around the ground - was the tale of the tape for Richmond as the Kangaroos recorded their third win of the year to sit four points clear in 17th position.

Richmond bolstered their line-up with experience as Dustin Martin played his first match in five weeks due to a back issue and almost blew the roof off Marvel Stadium with a dribbler from the boundary that rolled through for a behind in what would have been the first goal of the game, but his influence diminished as the game went on.

At times he appeared sore when bending down to pick up ground balls and was stuck wrestling with defenders instead of breaking free from them as has been one of his trademarks.

Post-match, Tigers coach Adem Yze admitted the three-time Norm Smith Medallist’s future remains clouded beyond the three remaining games in the Tigers’ season.

“We’re in constant dialogue about how his body is feeling and how he’s going to finish off the season,” Yze said

“He’s committed to finishing off the season and whatever happens after that, will happen.”

Enjoy Dusty while he’s here Tigers fans. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Yze said that while he does not have a gauge on whether or not Martin will continue playing in 2025, it is a regular topic of conversation at Punt Road.

“(We are) always in ongoing talks (about Martin’s future). It was great to have him back today for some of our younger players to play beside him,” Yze said.

“(The discussion is mainly) just around the fact that he’s got some energy to finish off the season. That’s all I can ask.

“There were some of the old Dusty moves today and he was a bit frustrated that he couldn’t finish off some of his work. He has had an interrupted couple of months so he got a little bit tired by the end.

“He’ll be better for the run. We’ve got an eight-day break leading into the St Kilda game so really looking forward to him playing his best.”

Richmond will need Martin and premiership teammates in the line-up at their best in the coming weeks to gain some confidence boosting wins and lift themselves from the bottom of the ladder.

The Kangaroos look likely to narrowly avoid the wooden spoon for a second straight season. Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Their final ladder position is not of concern to Yze however, as he is more focused on their style of play which ticked a lot of boxes but did not convert to a victory against the Kangaroos.

Richmond led the Inside 50s 66 to 44 as the ball stayed predominantly in their forward half, while they also won the clearance battle 39 to 33.

They could not capitalise on those key indicators due to sloppy ball use by foot both in front of goal and around the ground which left Yze “really disappointed”.

“The ladder position is irrelevant to us,” he said.

“What we’ve dealt with throughout the year has been pretty tough but our whole mindset around the last six or seven games has been finishing the season strongly for our fans.

“I felt like today they would have come to the game and sensed that our players really cared. Our polish and our execution is just off.”