'Can it work for both of us?': Dimma breaks silence on Dusty bid ...
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has shared the latest on the possibility of a Dustin Martin reunion at the Suns this off-season.
Despite hanging up his legendary boots this year, multiple reports have suggested the 33-year-old is plotting a comeback that would see him join forces with his old mentor.
Gold Coast in early September confirmed Martin’s camp had made contact regarding the possibility of a marriage but stated there had been no progression yet.
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“Dustin has reached out to the club but that’s as far as it goes at this point in time,” Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans said earlier in the month, via Herald Sun Chief Football Writer Mark Robinson.
Speaking on AFL 360 on Monday night, Hardwick delved deeper into the much-speculated discussions.
“We’ve had conversations,” he began on Fox Footy.
“What we’ve just got to sit there and figure out is: ‘Can it work for both of us? Is it a viable option for both parties? Are we motivated to go into this?’
“And look, there’s no rush from our point of view — those sorts of decisions aren’t made until about a month’s time.”
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Asked for his ‘gut feel’ on where those conversations are headed, Hardwick confirmed his club is “certainly open” to the prospect of Martin donning Suns colours.
“We’ve just got to have further conversations,” the first-year Gold Coast coach continued.
“We’ve had conversations, and from our point of view, he’s a really, really good player — it’s just (about) whether it is working for both parties, whether Dustin has the motivation to continue to play.
“He’s been a fantastic player for the Richmond Football Club ... It’s just (about) whether he wants to sit there and look at his career, but then we’ve also got to figure out ‘well, how does it fit with the Gold Coast?’
“We’re in the initial stages of those conversations.”
If Martin was to unretire, he would be eligible to join the Suns as an unrestricted free agent.
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Hardwick then shifted focus to his club’s approach to targeting ready-made talent this off-season, claiming the Suns “don’t need” to keep picking at the top end of the draft order.
“If I take Dustin aside for a moment, we are a very, very young list — I think we’re the second or third-youngest list in the AFL — so, what we have been really specific about is looking at established players that can help us,” he said.
“We’ve got picks this year, but we primarily want to sit there and bring in established talent. We had four first-round picks last year, so we don’t need to keep having first-round picks, we need to sit there and actually bring in players that can help us right here, right now.
“I think our club has got enough talent there to get us to where we need to go, but we need some players, and we’re very specific, and we’ve targeted players that will help us, I think, get us to that next step.”
Gold Coast’s 2025 list makeover is already underway, having decided against new deals for Darcy Macpherson, James Tsitas, Jack Mahony, Sandy Brock, Oskar Faulkhead and Will Rowlands in early September.
