- Cotchin and Martin won three flags together
- “Dusty” is 32 and there is speculation about his retirement
Retired Richmond premiership captain Trent Cotchin says one of Dustin Martin and Liam Baker will not be at the club in 2025, with another breakup of the Tigers dynasty looming.
Cotchin’s call comes as Tiger dynamo Daniel Rioli visited the facilities of the Gold Coast Suns, now managed by three-time Richmond coach Damien Hardwick, during a trip to Queensland during the club’s bye.
Baker and Martin are both out of contract at the end of the 2024 season and Baker is being heavily courted by both Western Australian clubs for a return ‘home’.
Martin, a three-time Norm Smith Medalist, becomes an unrestricted free agent able to join any club he wants and has also been linked with a reunion with Hardwick at the Suns.
There has been speculation that Martin (pictured in Perth last weekend) would leave Richmond to join his former coach Damien Hardwick at the Suns.
Trent Cotchin (pictured) thinks Martin and fellow Tiger Liam Baker won’t wear the black and gold next season
Cotchin, a long-time teammate of both players, said the money offered to Baker would be too tempting for him to refuse and that he was not sure whether he and Martin would both be in yellow and black for the season next.
“I believe one of them, if not both of them, won’t be wearing Richmond colors next year,” Cotchin said on Seven’s Talking Footy on Wednesday evening.
“With Baker, the numbers I’m hearing from the west are pretty significant.”
Baker met with the West Coast pair at 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 had recently purchased a multi-million dollar property in Perth.
But he is not a free agent, so West Coast or Fremantle would have to trade for his services.
Martin is 32 and pundits like footballing great Matthew Richardson are questioning whether he has the desire to continue in the AFL after winning three premierships.
Baker (pictured playing against West Coast last weekend) receives major offers from the Eagles and Dockers.
Martin is in the final season of a seven-year contract and there is persistent speculation that he may want to retire.
However, as recently as April 9, these rumors were refuted by his manager Ralph Carr.
Rioli, meanwhile, is said to have visited the Gold Coast facility and met Hardwick during the leave.
The 27-year-old defender is under contract at Richmond until the end of the 2027 season.
