It seems like a weekly discussion point but the future surrounding Dustin Martin has circled back into conversation as the Richmond champion nears his 300th milestone game.
Sitting on 297 matches for the Tigers with a stacked resume that rivals the greatest players ever to play the game, Martin who is not contracted beyond 2024 reportedly has a host of clubs "expressing interest".
Senior journalist Jon Ralph has revealed that up to half a dozen clubs are beginning to consider making a play for the three-time Norm Smith medallist while his future at Punt Road is uncertain.
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“So many mixed messages. His teammates think like he's likely to retire. They feel like, not that he's checked out, but certainly that he's lost the passion,” Ralph said on Fox Footy's Midweek tackle.
“They also feel like he wouldn't go to a club like Gold Coast because you've got to learn 40 new names. He's just too shy.
“But there are a few people out there close to him that have said five or six clubs have expressed an interest.
“I just think what happens when you have a coffee date up there at the Burleigh Pavilion with Damien Hardwick?
“Funny things can happen and you can go from being very, very unmotivated, to just having the fire in the belly once Damien Hardwick does special things with you.”
Richmond is gearing up to prepare Martin for his 300th, with the club reportedly wanting the celebration to be at the MCG.
However, to the fan's dismay, the Tigers and the glittered champion will not be partaking in any interviews or press conferences, according to Fox Footy's Glenn McFarlane.
"Part of the conversation (within Richmond) is that there will be no press conference or interview or along those sort of lines," Fox Footy's Glenn McFarlane said on Tuesday night.
"It is a shame.
"We saw a little bit of that with Buddy (Lance Franklin). But I think we've seen Buddy give back in a sense, since his retirement.
“Richmond will, in the right possibility, rest him for a week so he plays (his 300th game) Round 14 vs. Hawthorn at the MCG.
“But there's one caveat — there's not many Richmond players left. I think they've got 26 or so (healthy players) to choose from this week. If they get a couple more injuries over the next few weeks, he might have to play.
"What he will do and what he's agreed to do, is be in a photo with the five other living Richmond 300-gamers."
Former teammates Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards and Trent Cotchin will join him alongside Kevin Bartlett, Wayne Campbell and Francis Bourke.
