- Cotchin and Martin won three flags together
- ‘Dusty’ is 32 years old and there is speculation about his retirement
Retired Richmond premiership captain Trent Cotchin has declared that one of Dustin Martin and Liam Baker will not be at the club in 2025, with the breakup of the Tiger dynasty imminent.
Cotchin’s call comes amid reports Tigers dynamo Daniel Rioli toured the facilities of the Gold Coast Suns, now coached by three-time Richmond head coach Damien Hardwick, during a trip to Queensland during the club break.
Both Baker and Martin will be out of contract at the end of the 2024 season and both Western Australian clubs are heavily courting Baker to return “home”.
Martin, a three-time Norm Smith Medalist, becomes an unrestricted free agent capable of going to any club of his choosing and has also been linked with a reunion with Hardwick at the Suns.
There has been speculation that Martin (pictured in Perth last weekend) will leave Richmond to join his former coach Damien Hardwick at the Suns.
Trent Cotchin (pictured) believes that both Martin and fellow Tiger Liam Baker will not wear the black and gold next season.
Cotchin, a long-time teammate of both players, stated that the money Baker was being offered would be too tempting to turn down and was unsure whether he and Martin would be in yellow and black next season.
“I think one of them, if not both, won’t be wearing Richmond colors next year,” Cotchin said on Seven’s Talking Footy program on Wednesday night.
“With Baker, the numbers I’m hearing out west are pretty significant.”
Baker joined West Coast in Fremantle in 2022 before deciding to stay with Richmond on a two-year deal at the time.
Speculation about a return to the west intensified when it was confirmed he recently purchased a multi-million dollar property in Perth.
But he is not a free agent, so West Coast or Fremantle would need to trade for his services.
Martin is 32 and experts such as football great Matthew Richardson have questioned whether he has the desire to continue in the AFL after winning three premierships.
Baker (pictured playing against West Coast last weekend) is receiving big money offers from the Eagles and Dockers.
Martin is in the final season of a seven-year contract and there has been persistent speculation that he may want to retire.
However, on April 9, those rumors were refuted by his manager Ralph Carr.
Meanwhile, Rioli toured the Gold Coast facility and met with Hardwick during the break.
The 27-year-old defender has a contract at Richmond until the end of the 2027 season.