Richmond players cop backlash over speeches amid Dustin Martin's big call on AFL future

Wantaway Richmond stars Liam Baker and Shai Bolton's 'farewell' speeches have raised more than a few eyebrows at the club's best and fairest night. After a nightmare wooden spoon season, the Tigers are set to face a mini-player exodus with tensions at an all-time high at the AFL club.

And Tuesday's Jack Dyer Medal event was frosty from the outset as Tigers president John O’Rourke appeared to take a swipe at the team's departing players. O'Rourke lauded the loyalty of those staying at Richmond to guide their "young players through this next phase of growth" and sang the praises of triple premiership player Nathan Broad after winning his second straight Francis Bourke Award -awarded to the player who best upholds the club's trademark values - for staying loyal and signing a new deal.

"Just by way of example … how fortunate are we to have players of the character of a Nathan Broad," O'Rourke told the function on Tuesday night. "I know through this year, I'm sure he could have explored options to see out his career in his home state or perhaps look for more lucrative options with other clubs. But he chose to extend for a further two years ... what a Richmond man."

His dig comes as three players who want to leave Richmond ahead of next season finished in the top five of the club's best and fairest vote, won by Daniel Rioli. Rioli who wants to reunite with Damien Hardwick at the Suns next season, polled 40 votes, while Baker and Bolton - who both have requested trades - tied for fifth with 30 votes each.

Dual premiership-winning midfielder Jack Graham is also expected to leave the Tigers during the 2024 AFL Trade Period. And while Graham can depart Richmond as a free agent, the Tigers will strike deals for Bolton, Baker and Rioli when the 10-day trade period opens on Monday.

But Tuesday's awards night was an unfortunate reminder for the Tigers Army of how many top-level players are bidding farewell to the club. And the night only got more awkward when Baker and Bolton stepped up to the microphone to deliver farewell speeches devoid of emotion.

The pair – who both played in the 2019 and 2020 Richmond premierships – finished equal-fifth in the Jack Dyer Medal count and their blunt speeches - which were uploaded to X -copped plenty of backlash.

“It’s been a great year and I appreciate everything the club’s done for myself and my family over the years and this year,” Baker said to the crowd. “I’m looking forward to what the club does in the future. I can’t wait to support it and it’s going to be great looking from afar, so thank you for everything. Take it easy.”

While Bolton said: "I just want to thank my teammates. Thank my coaches. Thanks to my partner Hasina back at home. She couldn’t be here at the moment because we’ve got another (baby) on the way. Yeah. That’s it from me. So thank you." Both of their short but hardly sweet speeches drew the ire of Tigers fans online, with supporters labelling their actions as "disrespectful and disgraceful".

Dustin Martin shuts down claims he will come out of retirement

Meanwhile, Richmond Tigers legend Dustin Martin has smacked down talks that he is considering coming out of retirement to play for the Suns. Martin announced his AFL retirement weeks out from the end of the 2024 AFL season but according to reports, his management has been in contact with the Suns about a potential move to the Gold Coast to reunite with Damien Hardwick in 2025.

Former Tigers captain Trent Cotchin had declared there's almost zero chance Martin would backflip on his retirement and play on next season, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill from running wild. However, at the Tigers' best and fairest night when asked about a potential backflip, Martin shut down the talks simply telling Channel 9, he is "happily retired".

with agencies