Richmond fans can breathe easy after Damien Hardwick ruled out convincing Dustin Martin to play at Gold Coast next year.
Martin will see out the final year of his contract with the Tigers to extend his legendary career at Punt Rd into a 15th season.
Hardwick, who last month was officially confirmed as the Suns' new coach, was photographed having a beer with the triple Norm Smith medallist at a busy pub on the Gold Coast last week.
But the three-time Tigers premiership coach put a line through any thought of luring Martin to south-east Queensland.
"Dustin's going to stay at Richmond," Hardwick told the Seven Network's Talking Finals.
"Personally, for my opinion, that is absolutely the right thing for him to do.
"He's going to stay at Richmond which is an enormous positive for that footy club.
"Me, like 17 other coaches, would love to have him on my side, but the fact of the matter is it's great he's going to play his 300th game at the Richmond football club next year."
Martin has played 278 of his 289 AFL games under Hardwick's coaching after debuting in 2010.
Hardwick was the 2017 Brownlow medallist's only coach until May when the 51-year-old made the shock decision to step away from Richmond, with Andrew McQualter stepping up as interim coach for the remainder of the Tigers' 2023 campaign.
There will be a strong Richmond presence at the Suns next season with 2017 premiership player Shaun Grigg joining Hardwick's coaching staff as an assistant.
Hardwick is also trying to convince former star Richmond defender Alex Rance to be involved in a leadership role at Heritage Bank Stadium.
Meanwhile, Adelaide have failed to convince Shane McAdam to remain at the club with the forward requesting a trade to Melbourne.
McAdam has formally told the Crows he wants a move to the Demons, who are believed to have tabled a three-year contract offer for the 28-year-old.
Adelaide hierarchy offered McAdam a fresh contract during the season which the West Australian-born attacker rejected.
"The Crows were keen to retain McAdam ... as he is viewed as an important player," Adelaide said in a statement on Thursday.
"Adelaide will work to secure the best possible outcome during the trade period."
Born in Halls Creek, McAdam played for WAFL club Claremont before moving to Sturt in the SANFL in 2017.
He was initially signed by Carlton in the AFL as a mature-aged pre-draft access pick in 2018 but was then traded to the Crows as part of a deal centred on Mitch McGovern's move from Adelaide to the Blues.
McAdam played 50 AFL games for Adelaide kicking 72 goals, with his trade to Melbourne set to become official in the nine-day trade period starting on October 9.
