Dustin Martin has finally committed to Richmond with an eve-of-finals agreement which has tied him to the club until 2024.

The 26-year-old Brownlow favourite met a Tigers contingent led by chief executive Brendon Gale late on Thursday at the Hawthorn home of his manager Ralph Carr. Football lieutenant Daniel Richardson joined Gale at the pivotal meeting.

In a scenario reflective of a week dominated by the very public question mark over Martin's future, television broadcast vans were parked outside Carr's house as the meeting took place.

The Kangaroos, who had made a board-led mammoth offer to Martin, had been cautiously optimistic that the star player would come to North but that optimism began to wane on Wednesday before the All-Australian function where Martin received his second successive national blazer.

Dustin Martin is set to stay in yellow and black AAP

The North Melbourne view was that Martin's exiled bikie father Shane had been keen for him to cross to the Kangaroos. But a conversation between father and son on Wednesday is understood to have seen Martin communicate that he planned to remain at Richmond.

By late Thursday the Kangaroos were certain Martin would remain at Richmond. Despite reports to the contrary the Martin camp were not considering any other genuine offers in recent weeks. Suggestions that St Kilda had entered the negotiation with a late bid have been denied by the Saints who last met Carr before the start of the 2017 season.

Richmond had insisted their improved offer of a seven-year deal worth an annual $1.1 million was its final bid and that the club would have farewelled Martin with its blessing had he rejected it for North's potential contract estimated at closer to $1.5 million a year over seven years.

The latter bid would have seen Martin by some stretch the AFL's highest paid player. As it is the Tigers will face some challenges in controlling their total player payments over the coming years should their current team continue to flourish.

All-Australian captain Alex Rance signed a four-year deal with Richmond in 2015 which has tied him to the club until the end of 2019. Skipper Trent Cotchin's five-year extension signed at the end of 2014 secured him until 2020. Jack Riewoldt, the club's other key leader, is contracted until the end of 2019.

Given Martin's decision to stay with his club he joined at the start of the 2010 season the club has accepted his management's decision to attempt to negotiate a media contract to announce the new deal.

Martin's first game as a long-term committed Tiger comes with the club's return to the finals and its first top four finish since 2001 will be marked next Friday night in the qualifying final against Geelong in front of an anticipated crowd of more than 95,000.

North, also less optimistic it will secure the services of its other all-Australian target Josh Kelly, will now work to rebuild its list under Brad Scott in a revised scenario which is expected to lead to more retirements to follow Lachie Hansen's this week.

The Giants remain hopeful but not confident Kelly will commit to GWS before their finals campaign begins next week.

- with Jon Pierik

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