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Luring former Victorian cricketer Zak Evans to the Gold Coast was a small step in a bigger goal of starting to attract talent to the Suns, according to coach Damien Hardwick.
Evans, 24, who played Sheffield Shield level and with the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash, joined the Suns as a category B rookie.
In the club’s 14th AFL season, Hardwick lauded the enhanced ability of club staff to retain key players after an exodus through their early years in the AFL.
While Hardwick conceded Evans, who played alongside the likes of AFL star Bailey Smithat Xavier College in 2018, had some work to do to get AFL ready, he said choosing the Suns over North Melbourne was a good indicator the Queensland club was doing something right.PLAYERCARDSTART6Bailey Smith
- Age
- 23
- Ht
- 185cm
- Wt
- 86kg
- Pos.
- M/F
CareerSeasonLast 5
- D
- 18.3
- 5star
- K
- 8.5
- 3star
- HB
- 9.8
- 5star
- M
- 2.3
- 2star
- T
- 3.8
- 5star
- CL
- 2.7
- 4star
- D
- 19.8
- 5star
- K
- 9.6
- 4star
- HB
- 10.2
- 5star
- M
- 1.8
- 2star
- T
- 3.2
- 4star
- CL
- 3.2
- 4star
- D
- 14.8
- 4star
- K
- 7.6
- 3star
- HB
- 7.2
- 5star
- M
- 2.0
- 3star
- T
- 3.4
- 5star
- CL
- 1.6
- 4star
PLAYERCARDEND
“Our players made him feel really welcome, we’ve got a great environment,” Hardwick said on Thursday.
“Our retention of players has become paramount and really important to where we are today. Now we just have to start a
“He knows the game, he’s played the game, he’s had some time off. He’s got a unique skill set, he’s explosive, he uses the ball really well. It’s going to take some time, he hasn’t played a level as high as this, but we are excited to give him the opportunity.”