Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory

[GC2015]

Kalini is a defender no? Would need to be pretty elite to crack the first round less alone top 10. Generally first round and especially top 10 are dominated by mids or/and key forwards.

How many key defenders go early in the last few years? Curtin, who now has become a mid going by reports.
DGB? Well, we know what happened to him. Though not a real key def.
I just think its not the best postion player to be high up there unless you are exceptional.

Ethan Read at least can play multiple roles, elite runner so he had some exceptional traits. It doesn't happen very often.

But the fact he is tall is what has kept him in the conversation, but that won't last. Performances will need to be had quick smart.

Are we sure that Kalani only plays/trains as a defender? This looks a lot like a ruck drill to me...

 

[Jen2310]

Are we sure that Kalani only plays/trains as a defender? This looks a lot like a ruck drill to me...

Hard to say what drill that is. Could just be a 1v1 def/fwd drill.
A ruck drill the ball would be coming further up, and his opposition would be the opposite side not behind him.

I believe he'll be training with the suns this month.

 

[GC2015]

Hard to say what drill that is. Could just be a 1v1 def/fwd drill.
A ruck drill the ball would be coming further up, and his opposition would be the opposite side not behind him.

I believe he'll be training with the suns this month.

To me it looks more like a ruck drill where he's wrestled with his opponent at first and then the opponent has either lost position or purposely let him go to practise tapping straight after jostling for position. I think if it was a 1 v 1 then surely Kalani would have both arms extended and trying to mark the ball with that kind of space or even attempting to punch it away with a closed fist? Extending one arm with an open palm seems like a very weird thing to do if competing in a 1 v 1 def/fwd drill but it makes complete sense to open your palm like that if it's a ruck drill and you're practising tapping.

 

[GC2015]

Interesting story of our academy attracting stars from other sports. Seems like Lyons was well on her way to becoming a professional netballer until she gave footy a go this year and now wants to become an AFLW player. She must have some serious talent if she's made our U18 academy team as a bottom ager just one year into playing. More stories of athletes from other sports like her and Lombard giving footy a go and falling in love with it would be a great endorsement going forward.

Gold Coast Suns name Titans Netball prodigy Isabella Lyons in AFLW U18 squad for 2025​

Sixteen-year-old Isabella Lyons is still learning the rules of Australian football but has already found herself on the Gold Coast Suns AFLW under-18s roster for 2025.

The Helensvale State High School teen picked up a footy for the first time at the beginning of 2024 after seeing her little sister fall in love with the sport.

In fact, she’d never even watched a game on television.

“I thought I may as well give it a try, see what it’s all about, and I loved it instantly,” Lyons said.

“I never watched an AFL game until I got into the team.”

...

“At the start of last year, I would have never said ‘oh, I’m going to play for the Suns’.

“It’s just crazy.

“I still feel like such a little baby, but playing with all these older girls is such a good accomplishment.”

Queensland squads will then be selected from those performances for the 2025 National Championships at a later date.
“It’s such a great opportunity,” she said.

“I am a little nervous but the Suns people are so lovely and I feel like I’ve just clicked in so fast … it’s fun to train with them because it’s such a high community.”

...

The cross-code teen said she was in a completely different mindset to 12 months ago, and couldn’t believe how her sporting career had completely flipped out of nowhere.

Lyons will be draft eligible in 2026 for the 2027 AFLW season.

“To think I could be drafted in two years is scary, but it’s such an amazing feeling that all my hard work is finally paying off.

“I do see this as a pathway and I’ve been training non-stop.

“I hadn’t thought about it before because all I thought about was netball, but I feel like now that this pathway is open it would be stupid not to take it.

“It’s crazy to think about how far I’ve come in less than a year.”

...

https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/gold-coast-suns-name-titans-netball-prodigy-isabella-lyons-in-aflw-u18-squad-for-2025/news-story/c3b7bbe0e9e6a87131629b9970a381ed