Footy great reveals the tragic struggle behind his great mate Dustin Martin’s poor form – as calls grow for Tigers champion to retire

Footy great Trent Cotchin has opened up about the tragic struggle behind his long-time ex-teammate Dustin Martin’s poor form as speculation swirls over his playing future.

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

The midfielder also won the Brownlow Medal in 2017 and played 296 games.

But Martin’s future has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months as he has struggled with injuries and some experts, such as Kane Cornes, believe he should hang up his boots.

Richmond legend Cotchin had the luxury of playing alongside Martin during their time together at the Tigers, during which they helped deliver three premierships for the Punt Rd team.

Speculation surrounding Tigers champion Dustin Martin’s (pictured) departure from the game continues to grow as he struggles to play like his old self this year

Cotchin believes Martin has the ability to reverse his form and fitness problems, but says he is unsure if Martin has the motivation due to the recent death of his father.

“He’s absolutely capable of it – I just don’t know if, (given) where he is now, he has the energy to do that,” Cotchin told Talking Footy.

‘It’s hard to say too much about what he’s going through, but since his old man passed away, it’s been a challenge for Dusty.

“Probably the absolute priority is to get himself right and I know the club is helping him do that.

“So it’s a big challenge to impose that kind of commitment on someone who needs to get himself to his best.”

Martin’s father, Shane, died of a heart attack in New Zealand in December 2021 after being deported there in 2016 on “bad character” grounds, despite having spent most of his adult life in Australia.

He was heartbroken at being cut off from his son Dustin, who was unable to visit him in New Zealand at the time of his death due to Covid travel restrictions.

On Wednesday, Martin’s longtime manager Ralph Carr posted an unusual message on X about his client.

Shane Martin, the biker father of AFL superstar Dustin Martin, died of a heart attack in 2022

Cotchin (pictured with Martin in 2020) believes his good friend is capable of turning around his form and fitness issues if he puts his mind to it

“Will always be the people’s champion,” he wrote alongside a photo of Martin.

“Three flags, three Norm Smiths, one Brownlow, All-Australian, MVP, can’t be wrong.”

Martin’s future was also discussed on Channel 9’s Footy Classified this week, with Cornes questioning Richmond coach Adam Yze’s comments that he wants to extend Martin’s contract, which expires at the end of this season.

“Footy clubs are not a charity,” Cornes began.

“(Yze) has been pretty adamant, he’s said a few times that one of the jobs he wants to check off is extending Dustin Martin’s contract.

“Is that the right decision?”

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd was the first to answer, wondering how much money Martin could make by playing until 2025.

“Adem Yze needs to be stronger than ever before about what is best for Richmond,” he said.

“And I’m not sure spending $750,000 on Dustin Martin is the best thing for Richmond.”

AFL journalist Caroline Wilson jumped in at the mention of this figure.

“There’s no way they would spend that money on Dustin Martin,” she said.

‘$500 (thousand) absolute top. At the moment he is limping towards 300 (games). He wouldn’t get more than that, I’m sure, if he plays the way he’s playing now.

“He’s limping towards 300 and the way he’s playing now, you probably wouldn’t offer him a new deal.”