Dustin Martin remains silent on his AFL future, amid speculation that could change as early as Thursday night.
Martin did not speak to the media at Wednesday evening’s All-Australian dinner, where he made the team for the second-straight season.
He also was not interviewed on stage during the function.
There is speculation that Martin may announce his decision on Thursday night during the Channel Nine Footy Show.
Martin, who is about to become a restricted free agent, is weighing up monster seven-year offers from Richmond and North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos’ offer is reportedly worth $2.8 million more, but Martin has played his entire AFL career at Richmond and they have handled their public relations well during the season-long saga.
The Tigers remain the frontrunners to secure Martin, but the longer he holds off making an announcement the more likely it is that he will leave.
Martin and his manager Ralph Carr returned to Melbourne on Tuesday night after a trip to New Zealand.
The Richmond star went over to speak to his father about his AFL future.
Also on Wednesday, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said their main focus remains the qualifying final on Friday week against Geelong at the MCG.
“The decision whatever it may be will come out. But does it affect our preparation? Not really. We still go about our business,” Hardwick said.
“Dustin has been fantastic for us for eight years – he’ll continue to be fantastic for us as long as we go in this finals series.”
“If he signs – great. If he chooses not to, we deal with it and we move on.
“But the fact of the matter is we’ve got a game to win next Friday night and that’s purely our focus at the moment.”