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Dustin Martin's bold call as 'brutal' hit leaves him in hospital

andrew reid
·4-min read
Seen here, Dustin Martin clutches his ribs after copping a bit hit against Brisbane.
Dustin Martin was sent to hospital after a copping a brutal hit in Richmond's win over Brisbane. Pic: Getty

Dustin Martin is hoping to bounce back quickly from a brutal incident that ended his game for Richmond on Friday night and saw the star taken to hospital with an apparent rib injury.

The Tigers of old returned on Friday night, snapping a four-game losing streak to down Brisbane by 20 points in Jack Riewoldt's 300th game.

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However, the victory was soured by an injury to the Tigers' three-time Norm Smith Medallist, who came off second best in a big collision with Brisbane hard nut Mitch Robinson late in the third term.

Martin stayed down slouched on the turf for some time as medical staff attended to the stricken player.

He played no further part in the match and was later taken to hospital as a "precautionary" measure, as fans reacted to the incident on social media.

Tigers play down Dusty injury

On Saturday, Richmond provided an update to say scans revealed kidney damage for the star player.

Martin remains in hospital for further assessment, with the club expected to release a more extensive statement this afternoon.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick had initially downplayed injury concerns for his biggest star after the match, even revealing Martin's confidence about returning to action next week.

"He got a kick into the stomach so we sent him to hospital for precautionary reasons," Hardwick said.

"Obviously we're flying home so we just want to make sure he's available to fly - a big drive for Dusty otherwise - but we'll see how we go.

"Straight away he said he'd been fine to play next week but we'll just see what the doctor says and the scans show."

Richmond will return on Saturday buoyed by their performance against the Lions, who sit fourth and comfortably accounted for the Tigers earlier in the season.

After looking like a shell of their former glory in defeats to St Kilda, Gold Coast and Collingwood, Richmond's system and spark was back.

The win takes Richmond to 8-9 for the season and back inside the top-eight, ahead of next week's blockbuster against Geelong.

Pictured here, Jack Riewoldt is hoisted up by teammates after the win over Brisbane.
Jack Riewoldt is chaired by Richmond teammates after a win in his 300th game. Pic: Getty

The Tigers will likely need to win at least four of their remaining six games to be certain of playing finals.

"I think we've always had the confidence, we just haven't played to the level that we'd like," Hardwick said.

"Players (have been) coming in and out of the side so our consistency wasn't there.

"We're going to get the vast majority back now, we think, so we're really excited about that and what it does look for us moving forward.

"Hopefully we make the finals but I reckon if we get there we're going to cause some grief so we'll back ourselves in and see how we go."

Utility Kamdyn McIntosh (hamstring) was a casualty against the Lions, but premiership ruckman Toby Nankervis made a powerful return from injury.

Veteran midfielder Shane Edwards could be a chance to return against the Cats next Saturday.

with agencies

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