Suns in the Media - Part II

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KaySwizzle said:
To be fair… what local media? Do we even have local sports radio or mainstream podcast channels?

I think there still isn’t enough interest in mainstream media here to talk for 10 minutes about something like you could on these shows in Melb.

Grassroots may be exploding football wise up here, but the media interest will take a while to catch up.
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I don’t see any requirements from us here on the GC to be fair to VFL people.

The bridges have been burned.
 

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Big Red Machine said:
and how many of them are requesting interviews from the boys?
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I would rather our players talk to a larger audience and try and counter some of the assumptions about GC coming out of Vic, and start to become more household names.

It’s important for our branding too. Get more people interested in watching and following our team and players.

Local news is a small, but probably growing market. And I mean, why not both?
 
Let the GC public of the beautiful city get to know the players. Not Andrew Maher, Gary Lyon and Dwayne Russell. They are the enemy.
VFL media ban. Do it Evans.

EDIT-I just went for a drive and turned on triple m gold and what did I listen to??
Dobbo sucking up to some BrisC player.
 
Last edited:
KaySwizzle said:
I would rather our players talk to a larger audience and try and counter some of the assumptions about GC coming out of Vic, and start to become more household names.

It’s important for our branding too. Get more people interested in watching and following our team and players.

Local news is a small, but probably growing market. And I mean, why not both?
Click to expand...

This is an issue with the Sydney clubs too, players doing interviews on sen Melbourne instead of sen Sydney which seems to have blackbanned any mention of AFL on its station (despite the owner hutchie purporting to be an AFL fan).

All the northern clubs should be proactively calling the various local stations to get on.

The lions get very good coverage on sen Brisbane with Zorko and Hodge on weekly.

The other 3 northern clubs don't seem to care about it or push for it enough which is disappointing.
 

AFL Sydney v Gold Coast: The numbers that show the Suns’ midfield is best in the business​

Isaac Heeney might be the most in-form player in the competition right now but Gold Coast’s midfield brigade is the best in the business according to Champion Data. And it’s not even close.

Gold Coast’s engine room is humming like we’ve never seen it before and Sunday afternoon at the SCG is the stage to make a serious statement.
Isaac Heeney may be the competition’s top midfielder through the first two months of the season but the Suns boast the best on-ball brigade of them all – and it’s not close.

The Swans’ superstar is comfortably rated the best player in the AFL after earning more midfield minutes this season, but the man sniffing at his heels hails from the Glitter Strip and his posse of possession-getters are on fire.

Matt Rowell has enjoyed a similarly sensational start to the season, averaging 27 disposals (19 contested), 9.6 clearances and 6.8 tackles to lead Gold Coast’s glut of ball magnets.


Best mates Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson have enjoyed super stars to season 2024. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
In Rowell (No. 2), Noah Anderson (No. 8) and Touk Miller (No. 10) the Suns’ entire starting rotation ranks in the top 10 among midfielders according to Champion Data.

No other club features more than one.

When you consider Sam Flanders, currently the third-ranked general defender, was averaging 29 disposals and 3.5 clearances before his shift into defence a fortnight ago, the Suns have ostensibly featured four top 10 caliber on-ballers so far this season.

Add two-gamer Sam Clohesy into the mix, who is the top-ranked winger by a wide margin – albeit from a small sample size – and Hardwick has his midfield well and truly humming.

Champion Data’s Top-Ranked Midfielders (2+ games)​
Rank​
Player​
Rating​
1​
Isaac Heeney (SYD)​
144​
2​
Matt Rowell (GCS)*​
131​
3​
Jack Steele (STK)​
130​
4​
Zak Butters (PA)​
128​
5​
Caleb Serong (FRE)​
128​
6​
Zach Merrett (ESS)​
127​
7​
Tom Green (GWS)​
121​
8​
Noah Anderson (GCS)*​
119​
9​
Lachie Neale (BRI)​
119​
10​
Touk Miller (GCS)*​
118​
Click to expand...
 
Jen2310 said:
www.afl.com.au

Place in the Suns: Why Berry is loving life under 'Dimma'

Tom Berry has found a spot in the Suns' forward line – and he's desperate to keep it
www.afl.com.au www.afl.com.au


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I know it’s not a slight at anyone but rather an endorsement of the difference Hardwick has made, but once again….
"He values everyone in the team equally, whether you're having two touches or 30, it doesn't matter to him, as long as you play your role and execute it, he's happy.
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"He doesn't care about the things you might not be the best at, it's all about what you can bring and what you do really well that he focuses on.”
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Makes a difference.
 
Young_Guns said:
I know it’s not a slight at anyone but rather an endorsement of the difference Hardwick has made, but once again….


Makes a difference.
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In fairness, ask the players in the VFL if they have the same opinion on feeling valued. It’s easy to be happy and feel valued when playing in the firsts.

But obviously Hardwick has brought a pretty positive vibe overall and the messaging is pretty clear from players getting a game: do your role.

And Berry has done that very well so far this year. Big fan.
 
KaySwizzle said:
In fairness, ask the players in the VFL if they have the same opinion on feeling valued. It’s easy to be happy and feel valued when playing in the firsts.

But obviously Hardwick has brought a pretty positive vibe overall and the messaging is pretty clear from players getting a game: do your role.

And Berry has done that very well so far this year. Big fan.
Click to expand...
I reckon Dimma (like Fly) will make sure you feel valued, whether you are playing AFL or VFL.
 
Gold Coast Suns Midfielder Brayden Fiorini (26.04.24)
The Captain's Run

Gold Coast Suns Midfielder Brayden Fiorini joined Sam Edmund ahead of their matchup with West Coast this weekend.


 

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Bit of footy this weekend

www.goldcoastfc.com.au

Four games, two days: Action-packed SUNS weekend

It’s a festival of footy this weekend at People First Stadium with four massive SUNS games across two action-packed days.
www.goldcoastfc.com.au www.goldcoastfc.com.au

THE WEEKEND AHEAD​


AFL​


Gold Coast SUNS v West Coast Eagles
People First Stadium
Sunday, April 28 1pm


AFLW​


Gold Coast SUNS v West Coast Eagles
People First Stadium
Saturday, April 27 3pm


ACADEMY​


Gold Coast SUNS U18 Girls v Oakleigh Chargers
Austworld Centre Oval
Saturday, April 27 10:30am


Gold Coast SUNS U18 Boys v Oakleigh Chargers
Austworld Centre Oval
Saturday, April 27 12:40pm
 
This is a good read.

When Sam Flanders was called into a meeting with Suns midfield coach Shaun Grigg he thought little of it. Until he opened the door to see Damien Hardwick and backline boss Josh Drummond also at the table.
“All I could feel was my heart beating out of my chest,” recalls Flanders.

“I was so nervous. I’d been in that situation too many times.”

Last weekend’s loss to Sydney marked Flanders’ 50th AFL appearance. It’s about half the number of games he might have hoped to have played at this stage of his career.

But the No. 11 selection in the 2019 draft has endured a rollercoaster beginning to life on the Gold Coast – and three weeks ago he thought it was about to hit another dip.

Flanders had enjoyed a stellar start to the season, averaging 29 disposals and 3 clearances as part of a high-powered Suns midfield.

But ahead of the GWS clash in Adelaide for Gather Round, the 22-year-old was called into a meeting with his three coaches who told him about their plans to move him to halfback.

He wasn’t being dropped, but that only slightly tempered the nerves.

“I’d played one half of footy ever off halfback and that was in my U18 days,” Flanders said.

“I was nervous because I had no idea how I would go. There was a bit of pressure on me going back there to get the footy in my hands and create offensively.

“It was more the expectation I had on myself than anything else.”

Anxiety was nothing new to Flanders. It had become part and parcel of his time in the AFL.

Taken in the same 2019 draft as teammates Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, he had to bide his time for an AFL debut while his fellow draftees opened the year in the AFL side.

It took until round 11 for Flanders to get his first senior start and he was dropped five games later, never to return that season.

He played 16 games in 2020 but just nine the following year. After three seasons he had 30 games on the board.

Being called into meeting rooms to be told he was dropped became too regular for his liking.

It is why, even during the incredible purple patch of form at the end of last season that saw him play the 10 best games of his career back-to-back-to-back, Flanders refused to take his place in the side for granted.

When his contract extension was announced at the Club Champion evening last September it was met with raucous applause. The Victorian had a host of suitors eager to lure him back home after a tough start to life on the Gold Coast and the incredible form he had shown at the back end of 2023.


The room stood and cheered the announcement, acknowledging his contribution to the club and what it meant for the future.

But Flanders had to be convinced to make the announcement on that stage. He still felt there was more to prove before truly earning the applause.

The mental side of his game is something he has had to work on since arriving at the Suns.

During the club’s pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast last year, Flanders revealed he had worked closely with then-development coach Rhyce Shaw and club psychologist Tristan Coulter on what he perceived to be a “weakness in my game”.

Flanders felt he would fade in and out of games too easily if he made a mistake. It was keeping him from reaching the consistency levels required to be an AFL regular.

“Early in my career I went through phases where I tried to go above and beyond, always doing the extra touch stuff and extra vision, things like that,” he revealed.

“I think at the end of the day it created too much going on in my head. I felt like I was overthinking everything I was doing. I lost that natural instinct which is probably what got me here.”

While he has come a long way since then, as evidenced by his weekly performances, the nerves have not completely vanished.

In his three games from halfback Flanders has totalled 29, 34 and 34 disposals. He is the No. 3 ranked general defender in the AFL according to Champion Data.

But after a handful of skill errors against the Swans last weekend, he still left the SCG with doubts in his mind.

“I was a little bit rattled after the weekend,” Flanders admitted.

“It’s so hard to build up your confidence and it can get knocked down pretty quickly. There were some moments in the game … missed kicks and whatnot.

“There is always that, I suppose, fear there. Because I had so many years of being in and out (of the team). I don’t think I want to get to that point (of feeling my position is safe) because that’s probably when people get a bit content with where they’re at.

“I’m always trying to go out each week and prove why I should be in the team and hopefully positive things can come from that.”


At every opportunity Hardwick has told the footy world how highly he rates Flanders. His teammates have lauded his play, be it on-ball or in defence.

It would now take a serious string of poor performances for Hardwick to consider dropping the budding star.



After years of fighting to prove his worth, Flanders now owns the confidence of his coach and teammates – and he’s eager to repay the faith.

“The blokes around me … if I make a mistake or something it’s really easy to move on because they’ve all been so positive. They’ve given me great confidence moving into this role,” Flanders said.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to be for, if it’s for the whole season or not. We have a lot of good halfbacks in the VFL … if they come in and I go back to the midfield or forward, I’m more than happy to do that.”
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www.codesports.com.au

CODE Sports

CODE Sports
www.codesports.com.au www.codesports.com.au
 
Michael Rischitelli hates the Suns confirmed.
 

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Suns in the Media - Part II

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