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Dustin Martin will see out his contract at Richmond in a bid to play his 300th game in yellow and black, but the three-time Norm Smith medallist remains open to finishing his career on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
A Gold Coast source and a source close to Martin \u2013 speaking on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the contracts \u2013 confirmed to this column that Martin told Gold Coast of his desire to remain at Punt Road next year after meeting coach Damien Hardwick and football boss Wayne Campbell at a Miami Beach bar last week. The same sources said he had not ruled out a move after his contract ends after next season.<\/p>\n
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Richmond superstar Dustin Martin.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Martin, who will go down as one of the \u2013 if not the \u2013 best Richmond players of all-time, has been wrestling with his future for several months and has recently witnessed the departures \u201cI think he is a passionate person. He loves his Richmond family, I think he would like to play 300 games but, again, no one gets to decide that, only he does,\u201d Cotchin told The Age\u2019s Jon Pierik on Wednesday.<\/p>\n His decision to stay at Richmond is multi-faceted.<\/p>\n Martin is a fiercely loyal person and, as a principle, is keen to fulfil the massive contract that he and the club agreed to in 2017, when he was being heavily courted by North Melbourne.<\/p>\n Second, the money remaining on his contract makes the prospect of a trade considerably difficult. Martin will be paid more than $1 million next year. If he were to request a trade north, the Suns would want a substantial portion of that \u2013 more than half \u2013 to be funded by the Tigers.<\/p>\n Third, Martin knows he can see out his contract, play his 300th game with Richmond (he currently sits on 289) and then reconsider his future at the Suns without the restrictions of an existing contract.<\/p>\n Martin\u2019s manager Ralph Carr was contacted by this column but chose not to comment.<\/p>\n While all the trade talk at Melbourne has surrounded Brodie Grundy, The Scoop<\/em> can reveal that premiership midfielder James Harmes has almost certainly played his last game for the Demons after being frozen out of selection, according to two sources close to Harmes, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of contract negotiations.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old has been a regular in Simon Goodwin\u2019s team until this season, where he\u2019s managed just nine games due to a combination of form and injury.<\/p>\n James Harmes at Melbourne training on Tuesday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n He was one of the only senior-listed Demons to play for Casey in the VFL two weeks ago, when the vast majority of AFL players were being held back in case they were required for selection in their qualifying final against Collingwood.<\/p>\n A ball-winner and a tagger, Harmes has been on the outer recently, with the likes of youngster Bailey Laurie picked ahead of him.<\/p>\n Taken in the rookie draft in 2014, Harmes signed a five-year contract in 2019 worth just under Harmes would have been in the frame to replace Angus Brayshaw for Friday night\u2019s semi-final against Carlton, but he only recently strained his hamstring in a scratch match.<\/p>\n With one year left on his contract, Harmes has received interest from Richmond, Sydney and Geelong.<\/p>\n Melbourne were contacted for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cRazor\u201d Ray Chamberlain has confirmed the story on Nine\u2019s Footy Classified<\/em> on Monday that he won\u2019t be part of this year\u2019s AFL finals series because his back injury prohibits him from bouncing the ball.<\/p>\n The 20-year veteran umpire, who has adjudicated in 31 finals before this season, discussed the severity of his back problems with league officials several months ago.<\/p>\n AFL umpire Ray Chamberlain.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThey just said to me \u2018we\u2019ll pick you as long as you\u2019re umpiring well, but when it gets to the pointy end it\u2019s probably going to be a situation whereby it\u2019s a requirement we have umpires out there that are bouncing and we\u2019re going to go that way\u2019,\u201d Chamberlain told SEN this week.<\/p>\n His two bulging discs make it difficult for him to bounce the ball in the centre square, as it causes excruciating pain in the days following.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really comfortable with that, and I totally understand their position on that \u2013 where it stands now \u2013 and I\u2019m really grateful that I\u2019ve got an opportunity to continue being part of our list,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chamberlain umpired in the AFLW last weekend.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
of teammates and close friends Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt.<\/p>\nHarmes to depart Demonland<\/h3>\n
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$3 million.<\/p>\nNay for Ray in finals<\/h3>\n
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