The Gold Coast Suns have been gifted a much larger bounty than was widely expected, with the AFL today confirming an assistance package to give the Suns not one, but four priority picks over the next three drafts.
The Suns will receive pick 1 in this draft as a priority selection, giving them the first two picks overall, with which they are expected to draft close mates Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.
However, the Suns will also receive a pick at the start of the second round of this year’s draft, which is currently pick 20, and priority picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts also.
The Suns will get a middle-of-first-round pick in 2020, which will be selection No.11, and another start-of-second-round pick in 2021, currently pick 19.
This leaves Gold Coast with four picks in the current top 20 for the 2019 AFL draft, with potentially more draft currency still to come in.
Gold Coast have also been given a significant boost in terms of their access to academy players.
The club will, for the next three years, be able to pre-list any academy players without needing to go through the bidding process in the draft.
This means talents like Jack Bowes, who joined the Suns via their academy three years ago, could potentially walk onto Gold Coast’s list without the club needing to pay a price for them in the draft.
The Suns will also have access to the Darwin region via their academy for the next three years, and allowed an expanded rookie list where they can hold up to ten players.
The AFL has stated that the assistance being provided to the Suns will be reviewed annually, and the league reserves the right to remove future assistance if it wishes to do so.
“There is no doubt the Gold Coast Suns have had enormous challenges throughout their short history and it is to the benefit of the entire competition that the Suns are competitive,” said AFL General Counsel Andrew Dillon.
“The AFL and football fans want a strong and even competition, and while the endeavour and intent can’t be faulted by the Gold Coast Football Club, there have been executional challenges along the journey that have impacted the on-field competitiveness of the team.
“The club, led by Tony Cochrane and Mark Evans, will continue to build strength in the organisation and delivering on their football strategy is crucial to the club’s long-term success. The special assistance approved by the AFL Commission will contribute to this.
“While the package is set for three years to provide certainty to players, staff and the entire industry, the AFL Commission retains the right to remove future picks and / or academy access based on the club’s performance.”
Randy
Roar Rookie
marron - didn't you see the mural in Parramatta or that woman with a hijab holding a sherrin in the paper that one time LOL - sooo western sydney!
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
No they are not! Port are an "Australian Rules Football" club that happens to play in the AFL competition!
Republican
Guest
......I believe there are more than 3 or 4 by the way.
marron
Guest
Perhaps you are right (even if it saddens me, because the tribalism and identity stuff is half the point, in my book). In which case, all the more reason for GWS to stop pushing the "Western Sydney" rubbish. Let them be the country club or the Canberra club or the NSW club or whatever else - any of which are far more reflective of where their support is coming from - but stop pretending. And bottom line, all the banging on about the 30,000 members being a sign of how Western Sydney are taking to the club needs to stop.
Larrikin
Roar Rookie
they are only doing it so the AFL dont look like idiots for putting the team there in the first place
Republican
Guest
.......per capita, the ACT punches well above its weight M.I. Culturally the small jurisdiction offers a strong footy culture unlike most of NSW and Qld while the city also has great potential to base a league side. I believe it's important to consider history in the context of any honour board. Areas of NSW have long been Australian Footy heartlands, so the Giants cannot claim credit for growing the code in the south west, i.e. the Riverina, which is where the majority of the codes players continue to be sourced. The ACT with over a 100 years of footy culture, boast an impressive pedigree which sadly has not been fostered by the AFL. How many players are from GR GWS I wonder? Don't tell me that will come after 50 years of presence in the west of Sydney because while that may transpire, the ACT have been producing players for decades and still don't have a dedicated side in the big league.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
So what? Let's look at South Sydney Rabbitohs as a comparison. Their 'home' stadium is at Homebush and the vast majority of their members don't live anywhere near South Sydney. The idea that a club's supporter base needs to live within a particular geographic boundary is outdated thinking. By about a generation really.
Maximus insight
Guest
Agree they are not a chimera but 4 of the Victorian AFL clubs are older. There are several sub pro clubs in Victoria that are older
Johnno
Guest
A lot of unfactual (is that a word) info on here about Freo concesssions at startup. They got: Maximum of 12 uncontracted players from AFL clubs over first 2 years; Players who had previously nominated for three draft but were not picked (max of 2 from Vic, SA & Tas); Up to 10 delisted AFL players; Unlimited zelections from their 4 aligned WA clubs; Selections 1 f 4 in 1993 & then first 2 selections in each round of 1994 draft. And by the way, the AFL clubs that lost a player to Freo were given a priority selection of a 16 yo, which diluted talent from any future draft. A pittance really when you look at today & what other startup clubs got.
Powa
Roar Rookie
port are not a chimera club, they are the oldest afl club in the world
Powa
Roar Rookie
they havent done this for other struggling clubs in the past, why this astro-turf team?
normalozperson
Roar Rookie
Most of Canberra will be in Sydney this week & they won't be cheering the fake GWS
normalozperson
Roar Rookie
Yes and didn't it show in the TV ratings,you should have a look at the figures on sportsindustry site you might get a rude suprise
Shane
Guest
The problem with Carlton, Hawthorn, Saints, Doggies, Richmond, Pies, North and Essendon is that there are too many located in one city for a national comp. Time to cull.
Shane
Guest
This is a "The AFL never makes the wrong decision" moment, where the entire club is the decision.
Shane
Guest
Yes. Numbers games, where a sporting affiliation with tax free status is run as a business for its TV overlords, not for the good of the people that support it. Yay for the AFL and it's business metrics. It's a market for the taking at GC, but those Tassies will watch the game regardless. Take back your footy, people.
Lukey Miller
Guest
I am not a GWS fan, but I get the feeling that the club is destined for success - on field and off field. I would not be surprised if the club became a powerhouse in the AFL in the not too distant future. The club is very well administered and their list management and recruiting continue to be very impressive - these are key indicators for sustained success in professional team sport. They were completely cooked going into the Grand Final, but it was still an important step in their journey to sustained success.
mark
Guest
But there's help and then there is help I think someone has been told to make it work at all costs because: reasons. Where reasons = tv contract. Therefore the AFL do not care what happens as long as its working.
mark
Guest
I like your enthusiasm however this level of optimism belies everything we observe before us. It was a mistake, its not really going to work without incredible amounts of synthetic money. But by all means carry the torch for us. I am not against you, I would rather the AFL put the money where its actually going to be of use. But my friend there is the rub - the AFL think money solves everything... as we see it can actually just create more problems than its worth. Its 50M for the contract on tv is it not. Money just does not appear for a reason and possibly they got more to lead them into a trap... Really think about it. The gold coast is a mistake and I am not just saying that. It could well be fixed but I doubt it. If its not a money problem and forget about coaching, its just not going to do well. Period.
mark
Guest
Yuh really, guys, its like the wwf now. Just pick which team you want to try and get to win in 5 to 10 years time. Probably time to entice the 4 big clubs away. Dross indeed, I used this term the other day. The decline is real.