Gold Coast has moved to downplay talk of Dustin Martin coming out of retirement and reuniting with Damien Hardwick at the Suns in 2025.

The three-time Norm Smith Medallist and Richmond legend bid an emotional farewell at the end of the 2024 season, with swirling rumours that he would head north to join the Suns seemingly put to rest by his retirement announcement.

However, according to the Herald Sun, a post-season meeting with Hardwick on the Gold Coast has reinvigorated suggestions the 33-year old’s glittering AFL career isn’t done yet.

Martin is eligible to join the Suns as a free agent, with the Tigers to receive no compensation should it occur.

Suns CEO Mark Evans confirmed to the Herald Sun Martin had made contact.

“Dustin has reached out to the club but that’s as far as it goes at this point in time,’’ Evans said.

afl.com.au reporter Callum Twomey later confirmed Martin is ‘open’ to becoming a Sun.

“We can confirm that Dustin has had a conversation with the club and we will both be engaging in further conversations to work out whether it’s a good fit for the Gold Coast Suns and for Dustin,” Suns football boss and former Tigers great Wayne Campbell told The Age.

Blues cut highly paid forward among five delistings

Jack Martin has been delisted by Carlton, with the Blues announcing the forward’s departure as one of five players cut following their disappointing end to season 2024.

Martin joins David Cuningham, Caleb Marchbank, Alex Mirkov and Dom Akuei in departing the Blues.

The injury-prone 29-year old, however, is expected to continue his AFL career in 2025, with both Western Australian clubs showing interest, in particular Fremantle.

Now that the Blues have severed ties, Martin can join either club as a delisted free agent during the upcoming AFL free agency period.

One of the most highly touted juniors in recent AFL history, Martin was originally recruited by Gold Coast with pick 1 of the 2012 ‘mini-draft’, a brief initiative which allowed clubs to select players not yet old enough to nominate for the national draft.

Martin played 97 games across six seasons for the Suns before requesting a trade to Carlton at the conclusion of 2019.

He arrived at the Blues via the pre-season draft, with both sides unable to agree on a deal during the trade period – it was reported at the time his five-year contract worth around $3.5 million included $2 million across the first two years.

However, soft-tissue injuries cruelled Martin’s time at Ikon Park, with the 15 games (of 17) he managed in his first season at the Blues in 2020 remaining his most.

All up, he played 54 games and kicked 52 goals for the Blues, including featuring in their elimination final win over Sydney and preliminary final loss to Brisbane in 2023 – he missed the intervening semi-final win over Melbourne due to suspension.

He played just three games for the Blues in 2024, suffering an early calf injury in his final match against Hawthorn in Round 22.

Key defender Marchbank likewise struggled with injuries after arriving at Carlton for the 2017 season from GWS, managing just 56 games across eight seasons as a Blue and just 15 since the end of 2019.

The pick 6 in the 2014 national draft did, however, feature in all three of the Blues’ finals in 2023, including a 20-disposal effort in the loss to the Lions.

Likewise, Cuningham battled repeat injuries during his ten seasons at the Blues, managing just five games in 2024.

He featured in the Blues’ elimination and semi final wins last season but was dropped for the clash with the Lions. He finishes with 58 games.

Neither Akuei nor Mirkov broke through for a senior debut at the Blues.

“David and Caleb have persevered through adversity throughout their extended careers at Carlton,” Blues list manager Nick Austin said of Cuningham and Marchbank in a statement.

“Their resolve to continue to front up and give themselves every chance to overcome each challenge is a testament to them and will hold them in good stead with whatever the step is that they choose to take.

“Jack [Martin] also showed a resilient mindset through his five seasons and has made some lasting friendships at the football club, while Alex [Mirkov] and Dom [Akuei] brought great energy around the club over their time with us, each earning their opportunity to be part of an AFL program via unique pathways.

“We thank all five players for their commitment during their time in Navy Blue.”

Jack Martin. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

‘Cooked for years’: Kennett whacks Clarko in praise of Hawks coaching handover

Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has delivered another backhander for legendary Hawks coach Jeff Kennett while hailing the succession plan which landed Sam Mitchell in the top job.

Mitchell’s Hawks are the toast of the footy world after their elimination final win over the Western Bulldogs cemented their rapid improvement in season 2024, with the team heading to the Adelaide Oval to face Port Adelaide on Friday night as favourites to book a preliminary final berth.

Kennett orchestrated the controversial handover which saw Clarkson, now coaching North Melbourne, depart the club at which he’d won four premierships in acrimonious circumstances at the end of 2021, unwillingly handing the reins to Mitchell.

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Despite the brutal fallout, which saw Kennett heavily criticised and a wedge firmly driven between Clarkson and Mitchell, the Hawks’ 2024 success has prompted the former Victorian premier to again take to the media to praise the move he and the club’s board made, while again criticising Clarkson’s conduct.

“Our decision to go with Sam was that Clarko had been cooked for a number of years and it was time for a change,” Kennett told the Herald Sun.

“But more importantly there was no one in the competition who we knew better – no matter who else was going after him – who was better suited to us and who had brown and gold in his veins.

“We recognised Sam was a young man with values, who was excited about the opportunity to put into place what he had learnt and how he thought the game should be played.

“We made the change, and Clarko, to some degree, wrecked it because he decided not to see out his term, which caused a bit of angst. It was the right decision.”

Kennett also revealed the bold targets he and then-Hawks football director and former captain Richie Vandenberg set Mitchell ahead of the 2022 season, his first at the helm.

“When we appointed Sam, I said to him, ‘Use the next two to three years, build your coaching panel, get your players on board, and I want you in the finals from 2025 onwards,” Kennett said.

“2025 is our 100th year [in the AFL]. I said to him, ‘I then expect you to be in the finals for the next 10 years and to have won two premierships.

“We are a year ahead of ourselves, so whatever happens over the next few weeks, come rain, hail or shine, we are on the right track.”

(Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Greats concerned with Port’s semi-final tall call

Former greats Kane Cornes and David King believe Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley’s call to load up on tall forwards for their semi-final clash with Hawthorn is playing a dangerous game.

In the eyes of many, Hinkley is coaching for his future at the Power on Friday night, with the much-maligned coach choosing to recall Todd Marshall while retaining fellow key forwards Charlie Dixon, Esava Ratugolea and Mitch Georgiades, ostensibly to attempt to stretch an undersized Hawks defence missing injured tall Sam Frost.

However, with the Hawks’ strength their army of pacy rebounding defenders, Cornes and King believe the move could backfire on the Power, leaving their attack too top-heavy to cope with the speed of their opponents.

“My first thoughts are, ‘Jeez they look tall’, is that a way to beat the Hawks? I’m not exactly sure,” King said on SEN Breakfast.

“No one has been able to get the ball in there enough to challenge the Hawthorn back six.”

King put the onus on veteran tall Charlie Dixon to deliver, with the soon-to-be 34-year old managing just three disposals and no goals in the Power’s nightmare 84-point qualifying final loss to Geelong.

Dixon has managed just 23 goals in 17 matches for this season, with nine of those goals in three matches against the lowly West Coast and Richmond.

“If there’s ever a game where you need Charlie Dixon to stand up, it’s this one,” King said.

“He’s kicked 23 goals for the season from 17 games, and most of his goals have come against the poor teams. You just need something from him tonight.

“It’s unfair to put the result on him – it’s not – but he’s going to get a match-up he’s going to enjoy tonight.

“If you’re going to win this game, you’re going to need Georgiades, Dixon and Marshall to fire.”

Cornes, who played 300 games for the Power, went even further, claiming his old side are almost impossible to tip despite having finished the home-and-away season second to the Hawks’ seventh.

“Can the midfield and Port Adelaide move the ball enough to give them a chance?” Cornes asked.

“They’re probably going to need 60 entries to kick a big score. This forward line is going to need that many entries.

“As we’re talking, we cannot give Port Adelaide a chance, there’s no way you can give Port Adelaide a chance in this game.”

The winner of Friday night’s do-or-die semi-final at the Adelaide Oval will head to the SCG to take on Sydney in next weekend’s preliminary final.

Dejected Port Adelaide players. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Dogs sweat on star’s injury in dying minutes of latest AFLW loss

West Coast have moved to 2-1 in Daisy Pearce’s first season as coach after coming from behind to defeat the struggling Western Bulldogs by 11 points.

After scoring just one goal across their first two games, the Bulldogs kicked the first two of Thursday night’s AFLW clash at the Whitten Oval to jump the Eagles.

But West Coast steadied to kick the next four goals and set up the 5.2 (32) to 3.3 (21) victory.

After failing to score a goal during the second and third quarters, the Bulldogs received a boost when star Ellie Blackburn reduced the margin to four points early in the final term.

Blackburn had another shot minutes later, but her long-range effort dropped short, with debutant Octavia Di Donato then snapping the sealer for West Coast with four minutes left.

Blackburn hobbled off the field in the dying seconds after hurting her foot.

Bulldogs coach Tam Hyett said they were unsure on the severity of Blackburn’s injury, but the three-time All-Australian would have scans on Friday.

“We’re not 100 per cent sure on what it is,” Hyett said.

The Eagles have claimed two wooden spoons in their short AFLW history, and finished 16th and 17th respectively during the past two seasons, but they could be on the rise after appointing arguably the biggest name in women’s footy as coach.

West Coast stunned Richmond with a win in the opening round, before losing to last season’s finalists Essendon last weekend.

Eagles young gun Ella Roberts set the game alight with a dominant third quarter that included a long-range goal on the run.

The 19-year-old finished with 25 possessions to demonstrate why she could be one of the future stars of AFLW.

Former Gold Coast midfielder Alison Drennan showed why she was such a valuable recruit for the Eagles in the off-season, having 25 possessions and eight clearances, laying 11 tackles and kicking a goal.

This match was the first of a condensed period for the AFLW when clubs will have shorter breaks than normal to take part in mid-week games.

The Bulldogs have prepared for the tough schedule, opting to rest young gun Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner against the Eagles even though the No.1 draft pick has only played two games. 

(AAP)