Tigers boss makes bold claim on retirement rumors swirling Dustin Martin ahead of milestone game - “There’s always going to be that around his future"

Tigers' senior coach Adem Yze has made a bold claim regarding Dustin Martin ahead of his 300th milestone game. Although Yze remains confident that the 32-year-old will play beyond 2024, he believes a successful coaching career is in the midfielder’s future.

“100 per cent, he’s committed for the season and if you watched his last three weeks, other than the week we gave him off, he’s committed and starting to play some really good footy. I’ve got no doubt he will finish out the season,” Yze said to the media on Thursday, according to foxsports.com.au.

“There’s always going to be that around (his future) and this week it’s highlighted because he’s playing his 300th, and like I’ve said all along, we just want him enjoying his footy and he’ll make that decision at the end of the year or as that gets closer. Right now we want to celebrate him and he can get to the end of the year with a clear mind.”

Dustin Martin has declined interviews ahead of his milestone game. Coach Yze also believes the return of Tom Lynch will help the Tigers to back-to-back wins which will be an appropriate way to celebrate their legendary player.

“He’s up and about. It’s a massive game for him.” Yze said. “When he’s here he wants to train and train hard. His whole focus has been around performance on Saturday afternoon. We’ll have a little bit of a highlights tape, and it won’t be a little one, it will be an amazing video during our captains’ run. He’ll cringe while we’re playing it, but you have to celebrate him.”

“He’s an amazing competitor, he trains really hard, but the care and connection he has for his teammates, and how smart he is out on the field, the knowledge he has imparted on our younger players during the week, has been amazing.”

“It’s not silence, it’s just the way he is. We don’t want to put any more pressure on him getting out there and performing.” Yze added. He’ll speak to the media after the game. Hopefully, after a good win. That’s how he rolls.”

Jack Riewoldt praises former teammate Dustin Martin ahead of inclusion into the 300-game club.

Coach Damien Hardwick, Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin, and Tom J. Lynch of the Tigers celebrate victory after the 2020 AFL Grand Final match

Triple-premiership player Dustin Martin, who is also the only triple Norm Smith medalist, is set to become the 104th person in the AFL and the seventh Tiger to reach the 300th-game milestone on Saturday.

Martin joins Jack Dyer, Kevin Bartlett, Francis Bourke, Trent Cotchin, Shane Edwards, and Jack Riewoldt as the only Richmond players to enter the 300-game club.

In his appearance on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Jack Riewoldt praised his former teammate, saying:

“It’s more so understanding who he is, you get to know people over a long period of time, that’s what mates do. He is a fantastic mate and fantastic teammate. I remember back to early days, 2011, we were being challenged and we watched this edit of the first quarter and it was nothing to do with anyone’s skill.”

“It was the number 4, at 19 years of age, going around and picking blokes up off the ground at every stoppage, it happened like 15 times, he was always the guy to pick the last bloke up off the ground. That’s that element of team, element of camaraderie, that element of leadership that he oozes. Because we don’t hear him talk a lot, you don’t hear him spruik it, but he is a fantastic leader," he added.

“It’s a really important moment for the club…I think and I hope he has a grasp on how important he is. He’s important to me, would I be a three-time premiership player if I didn’t have Dustin Martin in my life, probably not, I would say no.”

“When you break a premiership drought, that is arguably the most special thing you can do for people that you may never lay eyes on.”

AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson also lauded Dustin Martin’s’ influence on both adults and kids, from donning his guernsey number and getting his haircut to even his humility with his teammates.