footystar_
Team Captain
It was another injury plagued season which saw an array of players sidelined for majority or all of the season.
First, Let me take you back to Round 10, 2014.
The Suns made it a 5th consecutive win, with a 45 point smashing of the Western Bulldogs, they sat in 3rd position with a 7-2 record and looking like a seriously fast and skilful football side who would no doubt be playing finals that year. There was optimism and a good footy vibe on the Gold Coast.
Dion Prestia, Jaeger O'Meara, Gary Ablett Jnr and David Swallow were all playing fantastically well together through the midfield and starting to catch the attention of the entire AFL community, with many 'experts' predicting them to win a flag by 2016.
The AFL's multi-million dollar cash injection and player-concessions were now looking like paying dividends. A club which was built from scratch was now in it's 4th season and starting to play consistent, competitive football and was everything the AFL could have asked for.
So what happened?
Since that win on the 25th of May, 2014, The Suns have won just 13 matches, while losing 43, a staggering and dismal 23% win rate while average crowds and membership have dropped dramatically year on year.
So where did is it all going wrong?
Firstly, let's take a look at the suns 1st year's draft crop:
Back in 2010, Gold Coast had 8 of the first 13 picks in the draft.
They selected - #1 David Swallow (Questionable), #2 Harley Bennell (Gone), #3 Sam Day, #7 Josh Caddy (Gone), #9 Dion Prestia (Gone), #10 Daniel Gorringe (Gone), #11 Tom Lynch, #13 Seb Tape (Gone).
Take a look at the GWS Giants first year in the draft, they managed to get 11 of the first 14 picks in the draft and just 2 players have moved on:
#1 Patton, #2 Coniglio, #3 Tyson, #4 Hoskins-Elliot, #5 Buntine, #7 Haynes #9 Tomlinson, #10 Sumner (Gone), #11 Greene, #13 Adams (Gone), #14 Devon Smith.
The 2011 draft was a much much stronger crop of players all the way through to the deep end, The Giants traded well and banked on the strong draft but that's only a small part of the problem for the Suns as talent is certainly not the main issue.
The real issue remains, why this club continues to head south?
Many reports have come out over the years that a really poor culture exists at the Suns. Rodney Eade and premiership player Nick Malceski both couldn't believe their eyes when they arrived at the Suns. The way the club was operating was so far off a professional organisation as they'd seen and Rocket wanted things to chance quick smart!
Moving on players is only a bandaid treatment, it doesn't fix the main issues of a club culture. The Dixon's and the Bennell's can get traded elsewhere, but other kids will come to the club and fall into the same trap.
You can't help but feel for the likes of Prestia and O'Meara who come across as extremely professional athletes, who want to work in a professional environment yet continue to be let down by the organisation and the way it's operated.
Let me use the Western Bulldogs as an example, to show you how quick a good list can be turned around.
In 2014 the Dogs finished the year 7-15 and looking extremely unlikely of playing finals in 2015. During the off-season players didn't like the way the club was being run behind closed doors, with Ryan Griffin walking from the club. A fortnight later Brendan McCarthy resigned and the dogs 2015 season was in disarray.
The Dogs needed someone to settle the ship and rebuild the faith among the playing group and Luke Beveridge was the man that did it.
The Dogs shocked the entire competition, bouncing back in unbelievable style to play final footy and win 15 games for the year.
The entire CLUB has been turned around from some off-field adjustments and changes to the clubs culture.
In the Suns instance, a new coach hasn't been the answer.
Rocket has obviously identified the club had some significant off-field issues but still players are walking on the club for careers elsewhere.
The Suns need a complete clean up of both the football department and administration.
Jobs we feel need to be re-addressed:
Football Department:
Marcus Ashcroft - GM - Football Operations
Andy Lovell - Defensive Coach
Matthew Lappin - Head of Development
Administation:
Entire Marketing department need to start showcasing the Gold Coast to Australia, especially the AFL community. Most people see it as a beach, amusement part and strip of shops on Cavill Avenue.
When attracting new talent to the club, they need to showcase the lifestyle the Gold Coast has to offer.
TONY COCHRANE - Needs to focus on the monetisation of the club rather than the football department. He needs to allow Rocket and his team to do their job and Tony needs to focus on getting the Suns heading in the right direction again off-field.
Rocket needs 1 more season with a full re-shuffle of the organisation and with no injuries and an extremely talented list, I'm confident they'll play finals.
The Suns have just as good a list as the Dogs did in 2014 when they were basically down and out and made a complete turn for the better in 2015 and I feel that can certainly be the case for the Suns in 2017, especially with the new $30M training facility which will no doubt bring a professional vibe around the club.
Players to Trade/Delist:
Trade:
O'Meara, Prestia, Russell, Hallahan
Delist:
Schade, Leslie, Cameron, Currie, Willis, Tape, Stanley
Who do the Suns need to target in the trade period?
First, Let me take you back to Round 10, 2014.
The Suns made it a 5th consecutive win, with a 45 point smashing of the Western Bulldogs, they sat in 3rd position with a 7-2 record and looking like a seriously fast and skilful football side who would no doubt be playing finals that year. There was optimism and a good footy vibe on the Gold Coast.
Dion Prestia, Jaeger O'Meara, Gary Ablett Jnr and David Swallow were all playing fantastically well together through the midfield and starting to catch the attention of the entire AFL community, with many 'experts' predicting them to win a flag by 2016.
The AFL's multi-million dollar cash injection and player-concessions were now looking like paying dividends. A club which was built from scratch was now in it's 4th season and starting to play consistent, competitive football and was everything the AFL could have asked for.
So what happened?
Since that win on the 25th of May, 2014, The Suns have won just 13 matches, while losing 43, a staggering and dismal 23% win rate while average crowds and membership have dropped dramatically year on year.
So where did is it all going wrong?
Firstly, let's take a look at the suns 1st year's draft crop:
Back in 2010, Gold Coast had 8 of the first 13 picks in the draft.
They selected - #1 David Swallow (Questionable), #2 Harley Bennell (Gone), #3 Sam Day, #7 Josh Caddy (Gone), #9 Dion Prestia (Gone), #10 Daniel Gorringe (Gone), #11 Tom Lynch, #13 Seb Tape (Gone).
Take a look at the GWS Giants first year in the draft, they managed to get 11 of the first 14 picks in the draft and just 2 players have moved on:
#1 Patton, #2 Coniglio, #3 Tyson, #4 Hoskins-Elliot, #5 Buntine, #7 Haynes #9 Tomlinson, #10 Sumner (Gone), #11 Greene, #13 Adams (Gone), #14 Devon Smith.
The 2011 draft was a much much stronger crop of players all the way through to the deep end, The Giants traded well and banked on the strong draft but that's only a small part of the problem for the Suns as talent is certainly not the main issue.
The real issue remains, why this club continues to head south?
Many reports have come out over the years that a really poor culture exists at the Suns. Rodney Eade and premiership player Nick Malceski both couldn't believe their eyes when they arrived at the Suns. The way the club was operating was so far off a professional organisation as they'd seen and Rocket wanted things to chance quick smart!
Moving on players is only a bandaid treatment, it doesn't fix the main issues of a club culture. The Dixon's and the Bennell's can get traded elsewhere, but other kids will come to the club and fall into the same trap.
You can't help but feel for the likes of Prestia and O'Meara who come across as extremely professional athletes, who want to work in a professional environment yet continue to be let down by the organisation and the way it's operated.
Let me use the Western Bulldogs as an example, to show you how quick a good list can be turned around.
In 2014 the Dogs finished the year 7-15 and looking extremely unlikely of playing finals in 2015. During the off-season players didn't like the way the club was being run behind closed doors, with Ryan Griffin walking from the club. A fortnight later Brendan McCarthy resigned and the dogs 2015 season was in disarray.
The Dogs needed someone to settle the ship and rebuild the faith among the playing group and Luke Beveridge was the man that did it.
The Dogs shocked the entire competition, bouncing back in unbelievable style to play final footy and win 15 games for the year.
The entire CLUB has been turned around from some off-field adjustments and changes to the clubs culture.
In the Suns instance, a new coach hasn't been the answer.
Rocket has obviously identified the club had some significant off-field issues but still players are walking on the club for careers elsewhere.
The Suns need a complete clean up of both the football department and administration.
Jobs we feel need to be re-addressed:
Football Department:
Marcus Ashcroft - GM - Football Operations
Andy Lovell - Defensive Coach
Matthew Lappin - Head of Development
Administation:
Entire Marketing department need to start showcasing the Gold Coast to Australia, especially the AFL community. Most people see it as a beach, amusement part and strip of shops on Cavill Avenue.
When attracting new talent to the club, they need to showcase the lifestyle the Gold Coast has to offer.
TONY COCHRANE - Needs to focus on the monetisation of the club rather than the football department. He needs to allow Rocket and his team to do their job and Tony needs to focus on getting the Suns heading in the right direction again off-field.
Rocket needs 1 more season with a full re-shuffle of the organisation and with no injuries and an extremely talented list, I'm confident they'll play finals.
The Suns have just as good a list as the Dogs did in 2014 when they were basically down and out and made a complete turn for the better in 2015 and I feel that can certainly be the case for the Suns in 2017, especially with the new $30M training facility which will no doubt bring a professional vibe around the club.
Players to Trade/Delist:
Trade:
O'Meara, Prestia, Russell, Hallahan
Delist:
Schade, Leslie, Cameron, Currie, Willis, Tape, Stanley
Who do the Suns need to target in the trade period?