Suns in the Media - Part I

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Close the gap between their best and worst​

What do the Suns stand for? They’ve been in the competition for a decade, but from one week to the next, you’d have to flip a coin to predict which version of the team was going to turn up.

Towards the end of his coaching tenure, Stuart Dew mused after the Suns’ catastrophic loss to ladder leaders Collingwood in round 16 that he and his assistants had to find out why his players’ level of effort – reflected in the enormous gap between this team’s best and worst – remained so variable. Under Hardwick, you’d expect maximum effort to be the first absolute non-negotiable.

Get people through the gates​

In his first press conference for the club, Hardwick outlined what he hoped would be an entertaining brand of football: they would be brazen in attack, and stingy in defence. All clubs aspire to some variation of that balance.

If bringing intensity to every contest is the first non-negotiable, that should help protect the Suns defensively, but if this club is to survive in the long term, it needs more members, and Heritage Bank Stadium (formerly Metricon) needs bums on seats. So they need to be attractive to watch. Hopefully, fans can look forward to an update on the helter-skelter, barely controlled chaos Hardwick turned into a winning formula at the Tigers.

Turn their home ground into a place other clubs fear to tread​



To be fair, the Suns have already made ground in this regard – they’ve been a tricky prospect at home for a while – but winning the majority of their games at Heritage Bank Stadium would be a huge step towards making their first finals series.

This point is intertwined with the last two: winning more games at home creates a positive feedback loop that gets fans through the turnstiles and keeps them directly and passionately engaged with the club. The AFL market in Queensland is soft, and the Suns’ home ground unfortunately isn’t easy to get to. Win more games, watch the bandwagon fill up.

Improve team defence and balance between inside and outside play​

Given the lack of consistent effort outlined above, it’s counter-intuitive that the Suns’ biggest on-field strength is at the coalface: ruckman Jarrod Witts, his co-captain and club champion Touk Miller, contested beast Matt Rowell and classy centreman Noah Anderson consistently give the Suns first use of the ball and an advantage in clearances. What happens after that, though, is anybody’s guess. Not enough players can be relied upon to hit targets and take their opportunities, and while key backs Charlie Ballard and Sam Collins are underrated, they’re not getting a lot of help by way of defensive run when the ball gets turned over.

Take a hard look at the list​

Of course, every incoming coach does this. A marquee signing could get people through the gates, as Gary Ablett did when he flew north from Geelong, and Buddy Franklin did in his prime for the Swans. It’s almost irresistible to link Tigers champion Dustin Martin to a Gold Coast sea change under his former coach, but he should not be at the top of Hardwick’s list. The Suns are not short of top-end talent.
In addition, they currently hold pick four or five in the draft, depending on their ladder finish, but they’re open to trading it to accumulate the points required to secure a brace of highly rated academy juniors, especially young key forward Jed Walter, who could be the next Charlie Curnow. The Suns had a luckier than usual run with injuries in 2023, and that protected a very raw lower half of the list from exposure. While player retention has been a massive problem for the Suns, that won’t stop the notoriously ruthless Hardwick from looking at who is not delivering, who wants out, who has trade value, and who’s just not up to it.
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www.theage.com.au

Five things on Hardwick’s Gold Coast to-do list

These are the things the former Richmond coach must do to fix the Suns ... and drag people through the gates.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au

The Suns have never enjoyed a winning season in club history and will again miss that mark this year. His appointment is a clear sign the club is going all-in starting next season.

So what does he have to work with?

THE STARS​

Hardwick will be rubbing his hands together at the prospect of working with the Suns’ glut of talented on-ballers.

Touk Miller, Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and – recently – Sam Flanders have all established themselves as genuine stars of the competition. With Jarrod Witts still one of the best tap ruckmen in the business, the engine room is a significant area of strength for Hardwick to build from.

Key defensive pillars Sam Collins and Charlie Ballard have found their partner in crime with Mac Andrew, who has shown glimpses of serious potential as a rangy third tall with elite athleticism who will be expected to take another step forward next season.

That trio is one to build around for the next few years and gives Hardwick a solid base with plenty of upside to craft a finals-caliber back-six.

Wil Powell and Lachie Weller are oft-injured running defenders whose health is the only concern. When fit they are two players who would walk into almost any other side in the competition.

The forward line has plenty of question marks but the bedrock is solid. Ben King is the superstar key forward the club is desperate to keep and build a flag-winning side around.

Jack Lukosius has been a revelation since becoming a permanent forward and could surpass King’s goal tally this season with two or more majors against North Melbourne on Saturday.

Ben Ainsworth could be Gold Coast’s answer to Toby Greene and will be one of Hardwick’s favourite magnets to move around the field. He’s an accumulator who can run all day and, importantly, regularly hits the scoreboard.

Last season’s first-round draft pick Bailey Humphrey will finish his debut season with 20 games under his belt and an incredibly bright future ahead as a bullish mid-forward option.

Miller will turn 28 before the start of next season and still has a number of years at the peak of his powers. Then the next wave of players – Rowell, Anderson, Flanders, King, Lukosius, Powell, Ballard, Andrew, Humphrey – will all be under 24 come round one.

The bulk of the Suns’ top line talent is only just now coming into its prime and that gives Hardwick plenty of ammunition to chase a flag.

THE PRIORITIES​

Hardwick will sit down with Suns list boss Craig Cameron in coming weeks and the former Richmond men will have two names circled – King and Flanders.

King signed a two-year contract extension last year but that only served to delay the looming call over whether he stays on the Gold Coast or returns home to Victoria, with his current deal up at the end of 2024.

Teams will come hard and fast for the spearhead but the Suns have long been confident of keeping King on the Coast and Hardwick’s arrival cannot hurt in those contract negotiations.

The player himself has openly declared he is happy at the Suns and that should be music to the ears of fans.

Hardwick was one of the main instigators in prising Tom Lynch away from the Suns. Now his task is convincing Lynch’s heir apparent to stay put.

Flanders is a recent wrinkle, having burst onto the scene against Hawthorn in round 15. His body of work over the past nine weeks has been as good as any midfielder in the competition – certainly at the Suns – and suddenly his expiring contract is a major priority.

The Gippsland product has added a different dimension to the midfield and chose to push pause on contract talks until the end of the season.

That decision was likely a combination of waiting for the Hardwick announcement but also to build a body of work worthy of a much better deal than would have been on the table even three months ago.

Similarly to King, Flanders will have Victorian clubs lining up for his services and at just 22 years old has many seasons of quality footy ahead of him.


THE DRAFT​

Projecting forward can be difficult before the draft but we have a fair indication of what the Suns will add during that period.

A trio of top-line Academy products are expected to arrive and each of them could have an immediate impact.

First and foremost is Jed Walter – the hulking key forward who looks to be one of the most ready-made prospects in recent memory. Some consider him the best player in the draft and the Suns will be able to get him for much cheaper than his touted value.

Walter is just as good at ground level as he is in the air and his tackle pressure is rare for a player his size.

He could be ready to go from round one and that would completely alter the forward line dynamic we have seen from the Suns in recent seasons.


Then there is ruck-key position talent Ethan Read and midfielder Jake Rogers – both touted as first-round picks.

Read’s stock has risen tremendously in recent months and is an exciting key position prospect, while Rogers has been labelled the “next Dayne Zorko” for his small stature and genuine ball-winning ability.

With the Suns expected to land all of them in the draft, Hardwick will have three of the best young talents in this year’s class to work with.

As it stands Gold Coast currently holds pick No. 4 in the draft but will likely look to move that pick given it would otherwise be swallowed up having to match an early bid for Walter.

THE DUSTY DILEMMA​

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale moved to shut down the growing noise around a possible reunion between Dustin Martin and Hardwick on the Gold Coast but the new coach didn’t quite knock that on the head during his announcement on Monday.

Hardwick deferred to list management decisions coming down the track and both Mark Evans and Bob East remained tight-lipped about the possibility of pursuing Martin.

The triple Norm Smith Medallist has one season to run on his lucrative seven-year deal signed in 2017 and the Suns would likely need Richmond to pay for some of his monster salary to justify bringing him to the Gold Coast.

Gale was adamant that Richmond had no desire to trade away Martin, but there is a plausible route that benefits both parties.

The Suns need to bank points to bid on their Academy players in the draft and will look to move their first selection – currently No.6. Richmond traded away its top selections last season to snag Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper from GWS.

The Tigers need top draft picks to kick start their post-Hardwick, Cotchin and Reiwoldt era and the Suns would no doubt be a better side – at least in the short term – with Martin alongside Hardwick on the Gold Coast.

On paper it works for all parties but whether Richmond, Martin and the Suns are on the same page is a different story.

BEST 23 IN 2024​

FB: Charlie Ballard, Sam Collins, Mac Andrew

HB: Lachie Weller, Noah Anderson, Wil Powell

C: Brandon Ellis, Sam Flanders, Ben Ainsworth

FOLL: Jarrod Witts, Matt Rowell, Touk Miller

HF: Malcolm Rosas, Jack Lukosius, Bailey Humphrey

FF: Nick Holman, Ben King, Levi Casboult
INT: David Swallow, Darcy Macpherson, Joel Jeffrey, Connor Budarick

SUB: Brayden Fiorini

*Before the 2023 AFL Draft
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Iva Bigun said:
Highlights 🙏🙏🙏🙏
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Really dull interview, legitimately I don’t think Wheatley or Lewis watched the press conference because they asked all the same questions and then asked about the Adelaide score review
Only worth a watch but it’s still surreal to see dimma in our polo
 
Cheifkeith95 said:
Really dull interview, legitimately I don’t think Wheatley or Lewis watched the press conference because they asked all the same questions and then asked about the Adelaide score review
Only worth a watch but it’s still surreal to see dimma in our polo
Click to expand...
Yeah, pretty embarrassing from W and L.
 
Ben Drever said:
Not so sure on Ellis
Mcpherson
Rosas and Holman

Who replaces… no one stands out
Click to expand...
Swallow can replace probably Holman, and Humphrey can replace Swallow as a mid more, or maybe Davies.

But any outside players or crafty forwards are the massive wholes in our list that probably stops us being a top 8 side, tbh. We waste too many attacking plays and get rebounded to great detriment.
 
apple.news

Dane Swan drops hint about Dusty’s future — Herald Sun

Dane Swan’s 40th birthday celebrations will include a boys’ trip to Las Vegas, but whether Dustin Martin can get time off to attend will depend on where he’s playing next year.
apple.news apple.news

Dane Swan drops hint about Dusty’s future: Herald Sun

Dane Swan’s 40th birthday celebrations will include a boys’ trip to Las Vegas, but whether Dustin Martin can get time off to attend will depend on where he’s playing next year.

The Collingwood legend has sent out invites for his 40th birthday celebration in February.

“He’s invited, depends if the new coach will give him two weeks off,’’ Swan said.
“He’s more of a chance if he’s coached by Dimma(Damien Hardwick) and he may well be.”


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Bailey Smith plays like crap this year. Ridiculous. But it's fans who are voting I believe.
 
Gold Coast Suns co-captain Jarrod Witts joined Garry and Tim to talk about the excitement at the club surrounding Damien Hardwick's arrival, how difficult it was to move on after Stuart Dew's sacking, Sam Flanders' importance to the team, how much the game has grown in Queensland, who he thinks will be the All-Australian ruckman, the academy players coming into the club this off-season, and more

 
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