RICHMOND star Alex Rance has backed out-of-contract teammate Dustin Martin to remain at the club beyond the end of this season.

Martin, a restricted free agent, has reportedly put contract talks on hold until the end of the season as he weighs up his future.

But despite speculation the 25-year-old would be prepared to leave the Tigers, Rance said it was his role to support his teammate through an integral moment in his career.

"You talk about your usual stuff and you treat each other like friends, it's not like I'm trying to dig up any dirt (on Martin)," Rance said. 

"If he had any issues I know he'd come to me as a mate. 

"We're more than comfortable with Dusty and the way he's training is the best in his career, I'd say, so I'm not too worried about anything." 

Alongside Fremantle superstar Nat Fyfe, Martin is one of the hottest properties on the open market and could command up to $1 million a season. 

Rance went through similar contract speculation at the start of the 2015 season before committing to the club until the end of 2019. 

The star defender even contemplated walking away from the game so that he could commit to his faith as a Jehovah's Witness. 

"Everyone walks their own path," Rance said. "My path was completely different to his and I'm not sure too many blokes have walked the same.

"My advice wouldn't apply to Dustin or any other guys coming into free agency." 

When asked straight out whether he wanted Martin to stay at the club, Rance was glowing in his praise for his teammate: "Absolutely. He's our best player at the moment. He's our reigning Jack Dyer medallist, he breaks the game open and the Tiger faithful love him." 

The Tigers are set to announce their leadership group in the coming weeks, with all the attention set to be focused on whether Jack Riewoldt is officially voted in.

Riewoldt was dumped from the leadership group at the start of 2014, but with Brett Deledio departing and veteran Ivan Maric set to step down, the star forward appears to be a suitable candidate to make his return.

But Rance was coy on whether Riewoldt would join him, captain Trent Cotchin and forward Shane Edwards in the leadership group.

"It's something we haven't really focused on this pre-season. We've just focused on building good, strong relationships," Rance said.

"Our pre-season training (camp on the Sunshine Coast) was quite tough, but we really focused on building those relationships and understanding why certain people are the way they are and building on those strong bonds."