IN AN industry paranoid of outsiders and ultra-protective of its own set ways, the entry of a man like Ralph Carr causes mayhem.

Clubs fear dealing with him. Many don’t trust him. Fellow player managers are at the least bemused, and most are angered, by the tactics he employs in striving for what he believes is the best deal for his client.

Carr is a relatively recent AFL blow-in and he does not care for others’ thoughts.

He has forged a successful, albeit highly controversial, path through the entertainment industry. Jon Stevens, Kate Ceberano, Tina Arena, Cosentino, Richard Wilkins, even Pseudo Echo, and many others, have all been represented by Carr. Some remain in love with his work, others in extreme dislike, even hate.

Martin likely to make contract call before finals: Carr

In his AFL pursuits, Carr is not beholden to the protocols of those with large numbers of players on their books. He doesn’t have to worry about the need-to-stay-sweet-with-the-clubs politics which can consume and sometimes influence the actions of those outfits.

With only three AFL players on his talent books, he is about 300 players short of the TLA-Stride monster.

As the 2017 season unwinds on its most peculiar and unpredictable path, Carr is emerging as one of the most significant storylines.

His management of the AFL’s most intriguing and arguably biggest name, Dustin Martin, has not been copybook, and his hold-off tactics with Martin’s contract have frustrated everyone associated with Richmond, the club at which Martin started his career in 2010.

In an ideal world for the Tigers, Martin would have re-signed months ago. Many people are still pleading with Carr to tell Martin to re-sign before the finals start next month.

But the people who are critical of him are choosing to forget that in playing this hold-off game, Carr has managed, no matter what happens from here, to secure for Martin a deal that will be at least $1.5 million, and quite possibly $2.5 million, over five years more lucrative than it would have been had he bowed to outside pressure and dealt with the matter six months ago.

In compiling this article, several people who know Carr, the AFL and entertainment system, and Carr himself, were approached.

Many, clearly, didn’t like anything about him or his ways. The word “cowboy” was raised twice. Some simply laughed at the mention of his name, others said he was too keen to make himself the story in order to promote himself and his business.

A theme was his skill set in the entertainment industry not being at all translatable to AFL business, because of the individual versus team philosophy.

One person spoken to said he would never operate the way Carr had with Martin in holding out on the Tigers and openly seeking outside offers and presentations, but conceded that if his organisation, like Carr’s, had only three players on the books and not multiple players at most clubs, that it too would not feel compelled to play the keep-sweet-in-the-big-picture game with clubs.

Dustin Martin is the strong favourite for this year's Brownlow Medal. Picture: AFL Photos



Martin came to be under Carr’s control when Robbie D’Orazio, then working for Carr, drew on the trust Richmond players Dan Jackson and Luke McGuane had in him and managed to convince Martin to leave his original group.

D’Orazio has since left Carr’s business. Martin stayed with Carr. In 2013, when Martin was out of contract, Carr shopped the ultra-talented midfielder around. Upon knowing this, the Tigers pulled their initial offer, but ultimately re-contracted Martin, and then did so again at the end of 2015.

Despite denials from the Tigers and Carr, it is fact that the drawn-out nature of this current Martin situation can be traced back to that action by the Tigers in 2013. As to what percentage it has driven the overall situation, only Carr would know. But it has been a factor.

The last time Carr played this contractual hold-off game was in 2012, when Collingwood’s Travis Cloke was being courted by rivals, most particularly Fremantle.

The Magpies were adamant they would be offering only a four-year extension, not the five which Carr demanded. When the poker game arrived at the day where cards needed to be revealed, Cloke got a five-year offer to stay with the Magpies.

No matter what happens from here, Martin, via his own on-field brilliance and Paddy Dangerfield’s suspension, is a near-certainty to win the 2017 Brownlow Medal.

No one has ever had greater career and financial leverage in the AFL than Martin right now.

It is a situation that has been reached from an individual-over-team outlook from Carr.

Martin, given his clear investment in Carr to act in such a way all year, is not only OK with it, but has clearly thrived on it.

No need to judge either person adversely. It’s business, without restriction.