By Jon Pierik
Richmond great Dustin Martin has been bracketed alongside club legends Kevin Bartlett and Royce Hart after announcing his retirement, effective immediately, while the career of fellow AFL great Tom Hawkins will also close at the end of this season.
Martin, a three-time Norm Smith medallist, triple premiership player, Brownlow medallist, four-time All Australian, three-time Gary Ayres medallist and dual Jack Dyer Medal winner told teammates on Tuesday morning of the decision to end his 15-year career, ending speculation he was considering joining the Gold Coast Suns.
Two greats of the game, adored by their fans, retiring on the same day.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Hawkins, also a three-time premiership player, is trying to fight his way back from injury in time for finals, with Geelong chasing a top-four finish in the home and away season.
Famed for his “don’t argue” fend-off, Martin, 33, announced his retirement with a typical lack of fanfare – quietly on Tuesday morning with no press conference and no farewell game. However, he will be given a parade around the MCG ahead of the round-24 clash against the Gold Coast Suns.
“It is hard to put into words what the Richmond Football Club means to me – I love this place so much,” Martin said in a statement.
“I will be forever grateful for the love and the support I have received from the people here. To my teammates, the brotherhood that we all share is what I value most, as well as the bond with the staff and coaches … thank you to all of you.
“To my family and friends, thank you for your unconditional love and support.
“To the Tiger army, I have always felt loved and supported throughout my career, and for that, I will be forever grateful. The memories that we have created together will live with me forever. Thank you.”
Tigers great Francis Bourke, a five-time premiership player, former coach and club immortal, said it was unfair to label Martin the greatest Tiger of all time, but told this masthead Martin belonged alongside two of the club’s most fabled names.
“I would put him in the ranks of Kevin Bartlett and Royce Hart, though. We are talking the cream of the cream here,” Bourke said.
“He has unique talents, his ball handling, his beautiful kicking skills, his ability, when he is at his best, to kick goals from upside down, inside out, roundabout – he just never missed, did he?
“I am thinking particularly of the Geelong game [2020 grand final] that we won up in Brisbane. He kicked them from the boundary, he kicked them from everywhere. I am sad to see him go, but I am so grateful he did what he did.”
Hawkins played 359 games and kicked 796 goals for the Cats, the same club his father Jack, and maternal grandfather Fred Le Deux played for. He hopes to return from a foot injury in time for September.
“I’m really optimistic that I can come back and have an impact,” Hawkins said.
“I’ve got a bit of a plan that I need to keep working through with certain people in the footy club. For the whole process and the specific injury itself, I haven’t tried to look too far ahead.
“There’s always that little bit of unknown when you’re trying to reload your feet as a key position, heavy player. But I’m quietly confident with what’s ahead.”
The Tigers took to the training track on Tuesday, still digesting that Martin, who played 302 games and booted 338 goals, has called time on his grand career.
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said he was told on the weekend Martin was preparing to retire.
He said the “burden” of football, mental and physical, had become too great for the man who had helped to revive the once struggling club.
“It wasn’t a surprise. It’s a decision, I would say has been burden for some time with Dustin. He has found the game physically and mentally challenging over the last few weeks, particularly wrestling with his decision. So we just felt, for somebody of his stature, it was important to arrive at it in his own way and his own time,” Gale, who will soon leave to be CEO of the new club Tasmania Devils, said.
“He is a guy who has played football for a long time, has had some challenging personal circumstances for the last few years. It’s a tough game. A lot is expected of this game. He has played at a very, very high level for a long time.”
Gale said Martin would not be joining the Suns.
“Dustin has retired from AFL football, that’s our understanding, and we’ll just leave it at that, at this stage,” he said.
“It will be a chance to step out of the bubble, recharge, reflect and renew, I guess, and see what’s next. He has been well paid, so he’ll be OK.”
Martin’s last contract, a seven-year deal worth more than $8 million, expires this season.
His retirement comes almost two months after 92,311 turned up at the MCG to celebrate his 300th game when the Tigers hosted Hawthorn in round 14, and follows ongoing speculation about his future.
Gale suggested he thought Martin may have retired after the Hawks’ clash, Martin speaking passionately about his love of the club and supporters in a brief post-game interview on the field.
“I just thought that was a wonderful occasion, an incredible occasion, and one of those incredible memories that people take with them forever. But we wanted him to arrive at the decision in his own way and his own time. We felt we owed him that - he was indecisive,” Gale said.
Gale said he was delighted Martin would be a one-club player.
“We are lucky we are part of a club that has featured some of the greatest teams in the history of the competition, some of the greatest, iconic players, and Dustin is one. We are so proud that he is an icon of our football club,” Gale said.
His final game for the Tigers was Saturday’s loss to North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, a result that left the club mired to the bottom of the ladder and now likely to finish the season with the wooden spoon.
But that mattered little to Tigers fans – nor other footy lovers – on Tuesday as tributes started to flow for the esteemed master of the “big game”.
On X, Martin’s long-time manager Ralph Carr described the Tigers No.4 – who was recruited to the Tigers via the Bendigo Pioneers and Castlemaine – as “the people’s champion”.
“Dustin Martin ‘the peoples champion’ to me exemplifies loyalty and excellence in AFL. His dedication to the RFC and fans was and is unquestionable … Love you my friend,” Carr posted.
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