Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has described the announcement of Tiger superstar Dustin Martin’s re-signing with the Club as being like “Christmas come early”.

The brilliant midfielder’s commitment to a new seven-year deal at Richmond provides the Tigers with a significant boost on the eve of the 2017 finals series.

“It’s very exciting for our footy club, great news for Dustin and, more importantly, it’s outstanding news for our fans,” Hardwick said on ‘The Footy Show’.

“He’s been a terrific player for us for the last eight years, and we get the joy of seeing him for the next seven . . .”

Notwithstanding the frenzy that Martin’s free-agency status created, Hardwick remained confident throughout that he would stick with the Tigers.

“I’ve known Dustin for eight years now, Trent (Cotchin) has had an enormous amount to do with Dustin, and we’re pretty close as a group, so I think we had a fair understanding where we were at,” he said.

“Like we’ve said previously, it’s every player’s right to look at free agency, and Dustin had some enormous offers . . .

“It’s really testament to the guy he is. To give up $2million to stay with his mates, and his footy club that he loves, is terrific.

“We just hope we can repay him and play some good football in September this year . . .

“He’s certainly invested in us, and we’re certainly invested in him.

“We’re incredibly happy he stayed.

“It’s a big show of faith from Dustin in our footy club and where we think we’re going.

“So we applaud the decision, and we look forward to playing some good footy on Friday night versus the Cats.”