Craig Mcrae has opened up on a chance encounter with the Richmond great.
Craig McRae has revealed he bumped into Dustin Martin on Tuesday near Collingwood headquarters, and the Richmond champion asked him (albeit jokingly) why he hadn’t received a call about playing for the Pies next year. Martin announced his AFL retirement earlier this month and played his final game for the Tigers.
But according to reports, his management has been in contact with the Suns about a potential move to the Gold Coast to reunite with coach Damien Hardwick in 2025. Former Tigers captain Trent Cotchin has declared he thinks there’s almost zero chance Martin will backflip on his retirement and play on next season, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill running wild.
On Wednesday, Collingwood coach McRae revealed a chance meeting he had with Martin this week in which the topic of him playing on was briefly discussed. “I was walking to work after the Brownlow and was crossing at the lights – right near the club – and Dusty’s there,” McRae said on SEN radio, revealing the 33-year-old was driving past in his car.
“He winds down the window and says ‘where’s my phone call?’ I said ‘yeah I’ll call you mate, come play for us’.” McRae’s comments were tongue-in-cheek, but Martin is good mates with Collingwood player Jordan De Goey and a move to the Pies would make a lot of sense.
Jake Stringer won’t be coming to Collingwood next year
Another potential trade target who is friends with De Goey is Essendon’s Jake Stringer, who has also been linked to the Pies. But McRae revealed Collingwood won’t be making a play for him after some initial interest.
The coach rejected reports he had personally driven a push to lure the 30-year-old away from Essendon, stating categorically that the Magpies were no longer interested. “I heard the rumour, and then went a bit deeper and saw ‘McRae really wants Jake Stringer’,” he said.
“I’ll admit, we looked at it, it came across our desk – Jake Stringer’s not signed, you have a look at the depth of it, but I’m happy to say here that we won’t be bringing Jake Stringer to our footy club. There would be many reasons, but to the rumour of I want him, that’s a bit of a stretch.”
McRae said Collingwood had looked into the merits of recruiting Stringer, but opted against going any further. “We did our research and we did all the things behind the scenes, where he fits on the list, money, tenure and whatever … but I’m happy to say he won’t be coming to Collingwood next year,” he added.
