How Was Richmond Supposed to Manage Dustin Martin’s Body in 2024?
The full RTSSG member feature, ‘We’ll sit down with him’: Tigers face fresh Dusty dilemma, is available to members here.
Late in June 2024 Richmond faced a practical Dustin Martin question rather than another debate about his greatness: how often could his body reasonably be asked to play through a run of short breaks and travel?
The source feature recorded Adem Yze discussing the possibility that Martin would be managed across the second half of the season.
How does a rebuilding club balance the value of having its champion on the field against the cost of pushing an older body through six-day turnarounds? Does travel change the calculation? Does the development value for younger teammates change it again?
What should supporters expect from selection when the best available player may not be the best available player seven days later? And how much can a coach protect one veteran without destabilising roles elsewhere in the side?
The source captures Richmond making that calculation in real time. The unresolved question is the dilemma itself, not a hindsight verdict on the decision.
Not a member yet?
Join here for less than a cup of coffee a month and unlock the full RTSSG experience: https://www.rtssg.com/plans-pricing
RTSSG.com: Richmond News By Richmond People For Richmond People!
Comments