The board of the Gold Coast Suns has to prove it has strength of character and leadership, and make some hard decisions prior to the mid-season break.
The Suns have no chance of winning sufficient games to make the finals. All positions at the club need to be examined and non-performers sacked or relegated to the B team during the mid-season break.
Three AFL players were sanctioned for drinking, they returned to the team and had little or no impact. Harley Bennell had 23 disposals, however only 11 were effective. It should not be tolerated.
The Suns played like a team of amateurs masquerading as professionals. They have none of the basic skills necessary for the AFL and play to a hopelessly out-of-date game plan.
The four most significant failures in the game were: injuries, tackling, kicking and marking.
Injuries
The medical staff do a good job with injury management, but they do not seem to know why the injuries are so prolific and fix the underlying cause.
The Suns are always behind the play and chasing, so the prevalence of injuries is going to be high. For example in Formula One and cycling the vehicles pursuing have the crashes. However the medical staff, coaches and players do not seem to be working collaboratively to develop a plan to minimise risk of injury.
Why did the medical staff allow Tom Lynch travel to Perth? He had a calf injury then possibly exacerbated the injury by exposing himself to deep vein thrombosis flying for five hours. He was never going to be 100 per cent fit, and the proof was in the late team change.
I object to unfit players being carried, and furthermore to clubs paying huge travel expenses for his attendance. What a waste.
Tackling
The coach stated that the tackling statistics were good. That is a misleading statistic at best. Simply put it means the players are concentrating on their opponents and not the ball.
They are coached by a conditioning coach who has an aptitude for wrestling. Wrestlers focus on their opponent, not the ball. Wrestling training is good, but needs to focus players on the ball and the man. As a team they focus too much on the man and not the ball, that is why they lack the necessary anticipation skills to control the game.
Kicking
The Suns are 18th in 18 teams in kicking efficiency.
On Saturday they kicked four in every 10 balls to the opponent. What a dismal failure of basic skills.
Of Bennell’s 23 disposals, only 12 went to the opponent, and likewise Michael Rischitelli had 26 possessions of which 13 went to the opposition. Are they playing for the team or for statistics? Sadly I think the latter.
Marking
The Suns players seem to think that the ball will he handed to them on a plate. They lack courage and situational awareness. On the weekend of 163 marks the Eagles took 12 contested marks and the Suns 1. What a pathetic result for the Suns.
Supporters, television audiences, and sponsors will not tolerate the continued poor performance and will abandon the club unless hard decisions are made sooner rather than later.
We need a well-led, strong, courageous, winning Suns team.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
Damien Hardwick has predicted Toby Greene's one-match suspension will be upheld by the AFL tribunal, but the triple-premiership coach says he wouldn't ban the…
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.
