Tom Lynch and his manager regret the messy circumstances surrounding the AFL star’s departure from Gold Coast.
Lynch is poised to join Richmond as a restricted free agent, but the key forward will not confirm he has chosen the Tigers until after the grand final.
Collingwood and Hawthorn were also chasing Lynch and Magpies coach Nathan Buckley helped bring matters to a head in July when he said he had spoken to him.
At the time Lynch was recovering from season-ending knee surgery and the Suns were pressing him for a decision on his future.
Days later, Lynch was stripped of the co-captaincy when he returned to the Gold Coast from his post-surgery recovery in Victoria and confirmed to the club that he wanted to leave.
“I can understand there were frustrations around Buckley coming out and saying that,” Lynch said.
But Lynch added he had no problems with a tense Suns leadership group meeting where his decision was discussed.
“If you all want to be nice, it’s not going to be a good leadership group,’ he said.
“There was a good discussion.”
Connors said Lynch had been a “sitting duck” while recovering from the operation at the family home in Blairgowrie, near Melbourne.
“All of us, in hindsight, could have done a couple of things better but he didn’t meet with a club while he was playing,” he said.
Lynch only played 10 games this season and had the operation after round 14.
He expects to be ready for round one next year.
Lynch also said he would have stayed at the Suns if they had more success.
“I have full confident in Gold Coast, they’re going to become a good club,” he said.
“If we were playing finals, I would never leave Gold Coast.”
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
This whole finals/stay thing is a massive cop-out. For starters, what were the odds of playing finals with a new coach on board and the draw they had this year? Quite long. It's also fair to say Lynch's form hasn't exactly been of the world beating variety for a couple of years now. Listless and apathetic would be two words that come to mind for many games this season. It's fine putting it on everyone else if you're having a red hot crack, but it certainly didn't look like it.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I don't think anyone came out of this well. Gold Coast has no right to complain about betrayal from Lynch, given they only made him captain to try and stop him leaving, he's under no obligation to remain Lynch tried to delay this as long as he could, and he should have known Bucks would throw him under the bus once he didn't sign with the Pies it's a bit like leadership turmoil in canberra - at the end of the day a lot of very well paid people are trying to plead for sympathy to the masses who are by and large contemptuous of the whole process
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Kind of hoping Lynch does indeed go to the Tigers now and the Pies keep Moore. We have a good forward line as it is and would prefer the money spread around the group. Lynch and Jack may bump into each other and let's not forget Rance said he didn't want him "upsetting the apple cart".
Woof
Guest
“If we were playing finals, I would never leave Gold Coast.” This is what's making it harder for lower clubs to climb and easier for clubs near the top to stay there.