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Many doubt that the AFL’s newest franchise, the Gold Coast Suns, will be successful in their first season. Upon the questionable signing of NRL superstar, Karmichael Hunt, this scepticism only increased. But as more and more big names are thrown into the mix of potential signings, the Suns look as though they might just emerge as one of the strongest outfits next season.
They’ve got their new guernseys, a surprisingly good team song, and the $126 million, 25,000 seat stadium is almost ready to accommodate their 8000 passionate members.
However, the Gold Coast Suns’ current existence is not exactly impressive, sitting at 10th on the VFL ladder, with just 5 wins. Hardly surprising considering that the current confirmed Sun squad has an average age of 20, with Daniel Harris being the oldest at 28!
But with a fan base that apparently exceeds 40,000, the Suns will have a lot to prove on the field, in their premiere AFL season. And the club is certainly trying to do their bit.
Along with the much publicised $3 million Karmichael Hunt signing, the Gold Coast Suns have unashamedly been throwing big money offers to big name players in an effort to bring some much needed experience to the team.
The latest Suns recruits, Adelaide’s Nathan Bock and Port Adelaide’s Nathan Krakouer were announced at a press conference yesterday, with Brisbane’s Michael Rischitelli extremely likely to follow suit.
The Suns have also been associated with the Western Bulldogs’ Jarrod Harbrow, Brisbane’s Jared Brennan, and Melbourne’s Cameron Bruce. But these players are yet to confirm where they’ll be in 2011.
The new club will get a further pool of talent with priority picks in the AFL Draft.
Gold Coast will receive the first three draft picks along with fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, and fifteenth picks, which along with their current squad, will give the club some strong foundations on which to build and develop from, in the future.
There are still questions over whether uncontracted Fremantle champion, Matthew Pavlich will make the move to the Suns in what is reportedly a multi-million dollar deal. Add all of this to the never ending speculation over Gary Ablett’s possible future at the Suns (reuniting with his brother Nathan) and you’ve got a very, very impressive team for AFL first-timers.
Over the coming weeks further signings of players in the bottom eight sides, will be officially announced, which will finally put an end to some speculation regarding the Suns recruitment endeavours. With the season finished for these teams, negotiations can be openly finalised for the first time since pre-season.
But for players who are playing finals footy (like Gary Ablett), unfortunately these announcements will have to wait.
I won’t say ‘dream team’, but boy oh boy, if they get just half of signatures they’re aiming for, it’s not too far off. One thing’s for sure, they’ll certainly make for a fascinating debut in the AFL.
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.