Dustin Martin could QUIT footy with ‘fed up’ Richmond superstar ‘ready to walk away’ in move that would rock the AFL

Dustin Martin is ‘fed up’ with footy and ready to walk away from the game for good, a new report has suggested.

Martin, 32, remains one of the AFL’s biggest names having claimed the Norm Smith Medal in Richmond’s three premiership triumphs of 2017, 2019 and 2020.

The midfielder also won the Brownlow Medal in 2017 and has racked up 292 games.

But Martin’s future has been the subject of intense speculation in recent years, with the 32-year-old linked with a move to New South Wales.

And according to AFL reporter Tony Sheahan, Martin is considering quitting the sport for good. 

‘I’m hearing some shocking information out of Tigerland,’ Sheahan said on The Turth Hurts Podcast with Wayne Carey. 

The Richmond champion is understood to be ‘fed up’ with the game

‘My understanding is that Dustin Martin is threatening to walk away, wants to finish on a high.

‘He’s played 292 games, he played a good game yesterday against St Kilda, he was the number one possession getter on the ground until halftime with 20 possessions. They weren’t great possessions. He’s not the Dusty we used to know, the best player in the competition, Brownlows, Norm Smiths, all that sort of stuff.

‘But my understanding is that Richmond is in a tug of war about keeping Dusty in a Richmond jumper until he can make 300 games.

‘As I’ve said, he’s played 292 as of yesterday. He’s told friends and family he can’t do it anymore. He wants to walk away.

‘He’s fed up, can’t dealt with it, but Richmond, as I said, is grappling with the fact that he could walk away and they’re saying ‘you’ll regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t play 300 games. Just get to 300 and then we’ll work out what you want to do for the length of your contract and/or all the rest of this year’.’

A stunned Carey said ‘this is news to me’ but admitted that he can understand the rationale behind Martin’s stance. 

Martin’s exit would serve as a major blow to the competition

‘So he’s human,’ Carey said. ‘He has been an unbelievably good player, but if he was to finish up at the end of the year or go away or find another club or whatever it may be, then he has the right to do that. I think he’s done enough in this game for us.

‘The thing that people don’t understand about Dustin Martin and very few players are like him in the competition — probably Lance Franklin would be the only other one in modern times — can’t go anywhere in Australia without being recognised.

‘This guy is a bit like Buddy, he’s quite shy — Buddy didn’t start out shy but in the end because of the star power that came along with being the best player in the comp for a long period of time — it’s very hard to understand what it is to live like that.’