Dustin Martin played 302 games in 14 seasons and rarely, if ever, shed a tear. But that changed when he said goodbye to the Tigers fans at the MCG on Saturday.
Martin could not contain his emotions as he returned to the cathedral of football for the first time since his sudden immediate retirement three weeks ago, sitting in a box with, among others, departing Richmond star Dylan Grimes.
He watched the Tigers suffer their first defeat since 2004 when the Gold Coast spoiled his farewell party with a 14.10 (94) to 10.6 (66) victory.
Marlion Pickett, who made his debut in Richmond’s 2019 finals win, was loudly cheered by Tigers fans when he came on in the third quarter after starting his final AFL game as a substitute.
The loudest sound of the day came when Pickett scored a goal in the final quarter.
Martin, Pickett and Grimes, notoriously media-shy, received an enthusiastic reception from the 34,577 crowd as the trio made an emotional tour of the MCG after the final whistle.
Just as he did after his 300th game in June, Martin gave a brief interview to his former Richmond teammate Jack Riewoldt.
‘[I’m] quite emotional, [it’s] “It’s just pretty surreal,” said a clearly emotional Martin.
Martin couldn’t hold back his tears in an incredibly rare display of emotion as he said goodbye to Tigers fans at the SCG on Saturday (pictured)
After 14 seasons, 302 games and three championships, Martin leaves the game as one of the best Richmond players in the club’s long history
The 33-year-old expressed his love for the Tiger Army in a highly charged interview at the MCG
‘[It] Feels a bit weird. I think it will really sink in after today.
‘As everyone knows, I love the club so much, I love you [the fans] all so much.
“I’m going to miss this place so much, I’m so thankful to be a Tiger.”
When Riewoldt asked him to name a moment that stands out in his career, ‘Dusty’ replied: ‘There have been too many great moments along the way, but you can’t just flatten the OG in 2017. That was pretty special.’
When asked to give one last message to the Tiger Army, Martin gave the following response: “I love you all so much.
“I am so loved and supported. I love you all so much. Thank you for everything.”
“It was great that our Tiger army came out to not only support the club but also two players (Martin and Grimes) who weren’t even playing,” said Tigers coach Adem Yze.
‘Thank you to our supporters for coming and showing their respect and gratitude.
“It’s fitting that we were able to wave those boys goodbye and hopefully show them how much we love them.”
The Tigers are set to undergo a major rebuild with Liam Baker, Daniel Rioli, Shai Bolton and Jack Graham likely to join new clubs next year.
‘Dusty’ leaves the game as one of modern football’s legends – and every Richmond fan at the MCG wanted a piece of him
Graham scored the first goal of the game, while Bolton, Baker and Rioli, who will join Hardwick on the Gold Coast, also scored in their potential farewell goal for Richmond.
Three years after winning the last of their three championships in four seasons, the Tigers are entering the draft with the first pick for the first time since selecting Brett Deledio in 2004.
Richmond could have avoided 18th place if they had beaten the Suns after North Melbourne were defeated by Hawthorn earlier on Saturday.
The 124 points scored by the Kangaroos saw their strike rate drop to 63.5 per point. Even a narrow victory by the Tigers allowed them to move from last place and give North their third win in four seasons.
But Gold Coast opened the game with six goals to two in the second quarter and led by 32 points at halftime.
The Tigers showed much more fighting spirit in the second half and kept pushing at all costs, but they could not reduce the margin to less than three goals as Gold Coast celebrated their only game of the year at the MCG.
Gold Coast recorded the most successful season in their history with a 28-point win.
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick embraces Martin after his Suns spoiled the farewell party with a win that took them to their best record in an AFL season
Dylan Grimes (left) and Marlion Pickett (center) said goodbye to each other along with Martin (right) in front of nearly 35,000 fans.
While their bid for a first finals berth will stretch into their 15th AFL season, the Suns finished 2024 with an 11-12 record, surpassing their previous most successful campaigns from 2014 and 2022 (10 wins).
“We want to play here more often, but we have to stick to the agreements,” said Suns coach Damien Hardwick.
‘We need to become a consistent team that competes in the final, but we are not there yet.
“We believe we are on that path, but we also understand that to earn this privilege of playing at the great MCG you have to play a sustainable brand.”
Suns forward Jack Lukosius scored two goals as he considers a return to his home state of South Australia during the off-season.
Hardwick hoped contract player Lukosius would remain with the Suns, but turned down lucrative offers from Adelaide and Port Adelaide.