Richmond football manager Dan Richardson says star midfielder Dustin Martin’s relationships with teammates haven’t been strained by his decision to gauge interest from rival AFL clubs before finally re-signing with the Tigers.
Richardson announced on Monday that Martin had agreed to a new two-year deal.
Martin’s negotiations with the Tigers lasted several months and his manager Ralph Carr’s attempts to shop him around other clubs fell flat.
Martin flew to Sydney last week and had a tour of Greater Western Sydney’s facilities before the Giants announced they would not try to recruit him.
Melbourne and St Kilda had also announced they weren’t interested and his last potential option for leaving Punt Road was denied on Sunday when Brisbane said they would not pursue a trade for Martin.
There is no doubting Martin’s ability, but some clubs have baulked at the former Bendigo junior who’s considered an off-field risk, having been handed a two-match club ban in 2012 for sleeping in and missing training.
“Dustin, he’ll talk to his teammates. They understand that he’s a great player,” Richardson told reporters.
“They also understand sometimes the business of footy and the nature of it.
“There’ll be no issue there.”
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin urged Martin in July to re-sign and said sometimes players have to make sacrifices on salaries in order to stay at a successful club.
The Tigers announced 22-year-old’s re-signing just a few hours before their Jack Dyer Medal function on Monday night as Richmond celebrate making the finals for the first time since 2001.
Asked if Martin had been given a deadline of Monday or else, Richardson said he’d rather not go into details.
“The timing’s great. We were keen to get it wrapped up before the best and fairest and put the speculation to bed,” Richardson said.
Richardson said the Tigers had considered at one stage Martin may be departing.
“We’ve been very firm on our payment strategy,” Richardson said.
“With any player if you’re forced to go beyond that, we always considered the prospect of perhaps losing him but we’re pleased that hasn’t been the case.
“We’ve been reading some of the commentary. We don’t know what the level of interest is from other clubs.
“We were disappointed that Dustin felt the need (to shop around).
“But he had his reasons and we respect those reasons.”
Richardson claimed the Tigers had no concerns about having to negotiate with Carr in the future.
The two-year deal gave Martin a chance to realise his potential, Richardson added.
“For us it means we don’t have a huge risk with a long-term contract,” Richardson said.
Martin was first at Richmond for kicks and uncontested possessions and second for total disposals.
Martin released a statement thanking Carr for his efforts.
“I want to thank Richmond and our supporters for being so patient during these negotiations,” Martin said.
“I am now looking forward to doing everything possible to help the club and my teammates have the success we all crave.”