Should Gold Coast re-draft Jack Martin to send a message to current and future Suns players?
That’s the question posed by North Melbourne great David King who praised Gold Coast’s tough stance that saw Martin’s trade to Carlton fall through.
The Blues are looking to land Martin in the pre-season draft after he decided he wanted out of the Suns by running down his contract.
By forcing Martin to go through the pre-season draft, King believes this will only improve their player retention woes.
“Do they (Gold Coast) need to re-draft Jack Martin to send a message to all players that are either on the list or coming to the Gold Coast Suns, both in this draft and the drafts in the future?” King told SEN Drive.
“That you’re just not going to walk out of the place, you’re not just going to get to the destination of your choice
“They (Gold Coast) have got picks coming out of their ears … so picks aren’t necessarily the answer for them, unless it was a mega deal.
“If you’re Jack Lukosius, (Matthew) Rowell or (Noah) Anderson, who we all think will end up as picks No.1 and 2 in this next draft, even the King twin up there, it’s not going to be easy anymore to just say to the Suns: ‘Yep, I want to go and play with my brother at St Kilda’.
“It doesn’t matter what the club is, I’m just saying that they’re basically saying to the talent on their list now that those days are gone.
“I just think it’s a great stance by the Gold Coast Suns, I don’t even know if they have to re-draft him (Martin) to do that, if they did, where does that leave Martin?
“I love what they have done, and I think that the group up there now will say: 'Ok, this is tougher to just walk out than what it was two seasons ago’.”
Reports suggest Carlton have offered Martin a heavily front-ended contract that will see him earn a reported $2 million in his first two seasons.