Collingwood coach's revelation about Dustin Martin as AFL champ linked with retirement backflip

Craig McRae has revealed he bumped into Dustin Martin on Tuesday near Collingwood headquarters, and the Richmond champion asked him (albeit jokingly) why he hadn't received a call about playing for the Pies next year. Martin announced his AFL retirement earlier this month and played his final game for the Tigers.

But according to reports, his management has been in contact with the Suns about a potential move to the Gold Coast to reunite with coach Damien Hardwick in 2025. Former Tigers captain Trent Cotchin has declared he thinks there's almost zero chance Martin will backflip on his retirement and play on next season, but that hasn't stopped the rumour mill running wild.

On Wednesday, Collingwood coach McRae revealed a chance meeting he had with Martin this week in which the topic of him playing on was briefly discussed. "I was walking to work after the Brownlow and was crossing at the lights - right near the club - and Dusty's there," McRae said on SEN radio, revealing the 33-year-old was driving past in his car.

"He winds down the window and says 'where's my phone call?' I said 'yeah I'll call you mate, come play for us'." McRae's comments were tongue-in-cheek, but Martin is good mates with Collingwood player Jordan De Goey and a move to the Pies would make a lot of sense.

Jake Stringer won't be coming to Collingwood next year

Another potential trade target who is friends with De Goey is Essendon's Jake Stringer, who has also been linked to the Pies. But McRae revealed Collingwood won't be making a play for him after some initial interest.

The coach rejected reports he had personally driven a push to lure the 30-year-old away from Essendon, stating categorically that the Magpies were no longer interested. “I heard the rumour, and then went a bit deeper and saw ‘McRae really wants Jake Stringer’,” he said.

“I’ll admit, we looked at it, it came across our desk – Jake Stringer’s not signed, you have a look at the depth of it, but I’m happy to say here that we won’t be bringing Jake Stringer to our footy club. There would be many reasons, but to the rumour of I want him, that’s a bit of a stretch.”

McRae said Collingwood had looked into the merits of recruiting Stringer, but opted against going any further. “We did our research and we did all the things behind the scenes, where he fits on the list, money, tenure and whatever … but I’m happy to say he won’t be coming to Collingwood next year,” he added.

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Collingwood interested in GWS player Harry Perryman

McRae did conform the Pies have expressed an interest in getting GWS utility Harry Perryman. "We've got interest in Harry, that's true," he said. "I'm a coach that wants to bring players in. I said that at the end of the season. It's hard, it's such a hard market fishing from the same pond.

"But I don't want picks, I want players. Not just any player but players that are going to make us better. We're somewhat deliberate on that. We think Harry can make us better and we're hoping we can put a case to him that he thinks Collingwood is the place for him.

“I want to get better every day, and I want to bring players in that make us better. I don't want to stand still … Geelong have done it extremely well, you look at that as a platform and you see other clubs like this year, Sydney brought players in, and it made them better. I don't quite buy into the ‘(premiership) window’ thing. I think, ‘Let’s just keep getting better, keep improving ourselves’."