Gold Coast Suns season review: The gang’s seventh heaven

Swans had way more experience this season than Suns. Swans were usually 1-2 years older on average with extra 20-30 games experience. By the way, when Swan were missing Hickey, Franklin, Rampe and McCartin Suns run over them in round 7 at Metricon even without Witts as they were competing against Sinclair in the middle. In round 23 it was the opposite. Suns were missing 8-9 best 22 on top of Witts. This shows you when teams are missing some key experience they are usually in trouble. Put a proper ruck in and Suns will look much better. Also Ben King played in most games as the only proper KPF for Suns. Although Day does not sets world on fire he would make a life much easier for Ben. Yes, Suns needs to improve depth in tall timber when injuries strike but otherwise not much is missing just need to continue getting experience together. Let's see next year.

Yeah, but we've been saying that forever, hence my statement, aim for the top eight or why bother, what really is the point? With the concessions this lot have had, if they can't finish top eight next year you may as well fold the club up and move the tent to Tassie, they'd instantly be competitive would be my tip.

Certainly, I respect your views but giving F to Suns seems a bit harsh to me. I give it D. There are facts, reasons for Suns finishing 16th on the ladder. No doubt Witts ACL was a key blow combined with injuries to all ruck backups. Suns simply did not have a fix for the hole in the middle and were on the back foot in the middle in most games. Essentially, all Suns wins after Witts injury were against teams with average ruck except Collingwood. To illustrate how important ruck is check out St Kilda how did they go this year without Marshall and Ryder. Most teams would not cope with 4 ruck options injured. Another fact most outsiders miss is that Suns still fielded the youngest line-ups in probably 18-19 rounds (too lazy to check), often under 24 years average age and with 60-70 games experience. Personally, I was a bit disappointed by last 2 rounds, but by then Suns were missing 8-10 best 22. Yes, several losses were bad. Yes, Suns finished with 7 wins, but 5 losses were 11 points or less. There are no ifs but if Witts played I am confident Suns would have extra 2-3 wins and would be close to 8th spot. As for Rowell, 8 weeks in brace, 2 more weeks no running, then only 4 weeks preparation. No wonder he lost all his pre-season conditioning like Day and Smith after half season injuries. Let’s see how he goes next season. Not really worried about him. He works extremely hard. Rankine did struggle in the second half. It seems crazy the criticism levelled at him. It’s a very difficult position to play especially when the team is bottom 4 and struggle in the middle with less than average forward deliveries. The best small defender was assigned to him in most games. Only in his second playing year, blues are quite common. Anderson also had a flat patch in the middle of season. Ainsworth was even sent to VFL to re-discover his mojo after 5 years in the system. It’s not linear progress. Swans send their future young stars into VFL quite regularly to improve their craft. The most positive for me was that in the wins against Tigers, GWS, Blues Suns showed a lot of composure late and appeared to finally start learning how to win close games. When Suns were on their style was exciting. Nice season surprises were performances of Farar, Sharp. Essentially, most young players improved – Ballard, Powell, King, Luko, Anderson, Flanders. Davies debut in round 23 showed he could be a player while we have not even seen Hollands in AFL. Jeffrey is also a great talent. Besides Rankine, I would say Bowes is another player who did not show a lot of progress. Obviously, Miller elevated. Holman was fantastic role player together with Lemmens. Greenwood was great until injury. Ellis exceeded expectations. Corbett, Burgess got opportunity and proved that they can become important role players too. Personally, I am very glad that Dew is still in charge. Most hard work has been done in the re-build. Dew or anybody else should reap benefits in the next 1-3 years. Suns just need to plug in some depth holes in tall timber and work on consistency which should come with experience. My best 22 round 1 in March 2022 is 25 years and 2month old and 82 games experience - not very far off. Obviously ruck backup is a need as Witts will probably not be ready round one and Moyle needs to develop. Could Conroy be ready is a big question mark for me. Yes, someone like CCJ to play alongside King, Day and provide ruck depth would be ideal. Looking forward to next year.

I wanted Nik Cox at the Suns something bad, but I see how Hollands fits their plans and even how the extra year has given others a chance to develop in their roles. He’ll come out charging and they might even put him in from round 1. The thing with Cox in the end, other than having 7 players they liked better, was that he would be too much like Lukosiusso that you could only play one at a time. Like Jack, I don’t think Nik is going to be a pure forward.

I'm not sure they'll do it, but their goals should be right up there, the Swannies bounced back quickly, why, with all their talent can't GC do something similar?

Your observation about the Suns list is somewhat dated. It was true a couple of years ago, but they've recruited well and shifted out 42 players. The oldest 4 players just retired and there could be another 2 older players moved on in the next couple of weeks. The bottom of the list is full of excellent players under 22, then in that middle age group you mentioned, there are some inspired recruitment choices that have added mature bodies with talent and experience, while the older group consist mainly of the veterans of the early years. Age wise, half the list are 22 and under, with some of those players to be moved on but replaced by even more 18yos. The next 5 year group is 25% of the group who are under 27, a mix of high draft picks, modest trades and astute recruitment of mature age talent. The oldest 14 players over 27 are down to 10 through retirements and more could be added to that number. If the middle group needs to be bolstered or rotated as you say, this is the draft where that will happen, although they are all contracted. Maybe Will Brodie, Brayden Fiorini and/or Darcy Macpherson want to go back to Victoria to a Hawthorn, North or Collingwood. Those guys are on reasonable money, so it means a big fish can be landed. Mabior Chol and Callum Coleman-Jones have to be high on the Suns shopping list in that age group, with Sam Weideman and Rory Lobb a couple of others on the market.

All right, so the Suns have 11 Academy players in my opinion who are draftable but haven't had much exposure. 1. Austin Harris, AFL Academy, Suns VFL Development Squad, outside midfielder, fastest player in the Academy and most accurate by foot. Plays forward or back. Mentored by Jarrod Harbrow. Invited to National Draft Combine. 2. Bodhi Uwland, Suns VFL Development Squad, Academy player of the year, half back flanker - Chris Doerre from ESPN says he plays like Luke Hodge and I agree. Invited to National Draft Combine. 3. Will Bella, Suns VFL Development Squad, Key Position Forward, brother of AFLW ruckwoman Lauren, nephew of Rugby League legend Marty, stood tall taking contested marks against AFL list defenders in VFL. Kicks goals from outside 50m, pinch hits in the ruck. Invited to National Draft Combine. 4. Ned Stevens, Key Position player, AFL Academy, Suns VFL Development Squad, NT Thunder, injured through middle of season, played NTFL seniors since age 16, lived on GC all year, basketball convert. Invited to National Draft Combine. 5. Jack Johnston, Key Position Defender, Suns VFL Development Squad, played 3 seasons of suns reserves, captain of the Suns Academy, top-ager*, son of ex-Bomber David Johnston. 6. Max Pescud, Suns VFL Development Squad, top-ager*, small forward, loves to kick goals, one of the fastest in the Academy, Suns VFL Development Squad, close to being drafted by Collingwood in 2020 7. Jed Foggo, Suns VFL Development Squad, solid frame, utility who can defend or go forward, kicked 2 goals in VFL debut, tackles all day 8. Brinn Little, Suns VFL Development Squad, pacy little player, featured in VFL, selected in the Allies squad 9. Tom Hofert, Suns VFL Development Squad, ruckman who could be chosen as a special Category C rookie** 10. Bailey Reeves, Suns VFL Development Squad, pacy midfielder who played a lot of VFL this year, selected for Allies, top-ager* 11. Jye Lockett, tied to Suns, nephew of Plugger, putting up solid numbers as a medium forward, marking and goaling. Played seniors and NAB League for North Ballarat/GWV Rebels. Ignored by rep teams, but has the qualities of an AFL player. Left GC for more opportunities, then Covid. *Top agers not invited to National Draft Combine. **AFL Commission considering giving clubs the option of drafting an extra ruck to their rookie list with the idea of being able to develop them for several years before having to give up a list spot These players have been seriously screwed over, with only 1 NAB League game from 3 planned, Allies cancelled from National Champs, VFL byes and cancelled matches, they weren't taken to Victoria to play VFL because the Suns are broke. Several my need yet another year in the system and could opt to go to a more recognised 2nd Tier comp.

Elijah was pick 7. Rated a mention. Would have played a few games at the end he could get some match fitness, but everything got cancelled right when he was hitting some form. Those 9 goals Joel Jeffrey got in the VFL came from Hollands dominating in the middle and going forward, as well as Hewago Oea, Mally Rosas and Alex Davies. In fact, go look at the stats from VFL Round 15 Suns vs Aspley and you'll see why Davies got a run in the firsts in round 23 (named in the best for the Suns too on debut). Davies and Hollands are going to tear it up next year after their draft year and first year have been wrecked by injury and covid.

As of right now, the AFL Commission hasn't said one way or another whether the club will get to keep either the start of 2nd round pick, which they weren't allowed to trade last year, and/or the ability to prelist Academy players before the draft. The former is certainly a valuable pick to gain/lose, but the prelisting concession is the one shrouded in mystery. The first year, the Suns prelisted 3 Academy players, yet never filled their 53 list spots or got any extra cap space to pay for the extra players (unlike GWS in their building years). The other mysterious thing is that the AFL Commission ruled last year was that because Alex Davies and Elijah Hollands were both too highly rated to be put on the rookie list and that Connor Budarick had to be elevated off the rookie list too. What combination they might choose makes little difference to the rest of the comp, but a huge difference to the Suns being able to complete their list rebuild. If prelisting is taken away, instead of 4 Academy players, it will likely be 2 or maybe 3 and there is a risk that other clubs can take some Academy players without the Suns being able to mach due to lack of list space. If the Suns do get to prelist kids, their whole draft strategy becomes a pick trading frenzy, especially with clubs like Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs needing extra draft picks to match their bids. In a sense, letting the Suns put Academy players on their rookie list is beneficial to other clubs in order to put the 7 picks the Suns currently hold back into the trade circle.

Lazy effort, Chuck. You have only touched on the issues without any analysis. It wasn't just injuries to Suns players, it was the players who got injured and the bad luck of the draw. Rowell, Budarick, Witts, Smith, Day, Holman, Greenwood, Weller, Ellis, Markov, and even Rory Thompson hasn't played for 3 years, but he's a top shut down key defender who has been keenly missed for all that time. The team that was left copped some awful hidings, yet what else could be expected with a mounting injury toll and utterly inadequate reserves competition? As for the draw, the Suns played 14 times against teams in the top 8 at the time, even knocking Richmond out. Timing was just never on the Suns side, like when they were supposed to play an afternoon game at Metricon, but then had to race home and grab their stuff to go to the airport for an indeterminate length of time. They were still getting covid tests after midnight and played at midday the following day, whereas the Demons arrived home the previous afternoon, slept in their own beds and came out ready to play. I also couldn't quite believe you failed to mention Elijah Hollands, who was touted as the number one draft prospect before doing an ACL 6 months ahead of the draft. The kid is going to be a gun with a proper preseason under his belt. The 2020 recruits were not able to get any continuity. I liked what you've said about the Academy and there is another crop coming along who aren't getting talked about because the AFL screwed up their season with no footy until April, then none in May, then covid cancellations and the VFL season getting called off. There has been very little opportunity to develop the young list and this is showing in results. 4 games out of 8th and there were 5 games that would have been Suns wins with a competent ruckman. You have your opinion and I respect that, but calling the Gold Coast "the black hole of Australian sport" is about the most wrong statement anyone could possibly utter. GC Ironmen and Ironwomen have been dominating the national sport for decades, while the Coast has had heaps of world champion surfers, including recent champs Mick Fanning (punched a shark on live TV) and Steph Gilmore (just returned from the Olympics). 7 Gold Coasters won Gold in Tokyo! Sailing, Canoe, Swimming, Skating and BMX. These are just a few - remember Olympic champ Sally Pearson? GC. World Number 1 golfer Karrie Webb. GC. Nick Riewoldt??! Recruited from Southport. Trevor Hendy? Too many to name. The Gold Coast just hosted the Commonwealth Games and was a major part of the successful Olympic bid for Brisbane 2032. The city produces champions for AFL/W, NRL/W, NBL, Super Netball, International cricket, International tennis, national hockey, Super Rugby - the list goes on and on. The city has a long and proud Rugby League history, with the Titans in this year's finals, in spite of more than 30 years of dirty tricks from the Brisbane Broncos and poaching from Sydney clubs. The city won the national baseball league twice. Boxing, Marathon, Triathlon, Tae Kwon Do, rowing - you seriously have no idea how much sporting success the Gold Coast has produced in my lifetime alone! You have been reading far too many death-riding articles on the Suns and it has seeped into your writing. There were parts of this article where you put forward good points and your usual controversial opinions, but the rest was just derivative. Tom Browne is your main source and that is just not where you should be looking for inspiration. Giving an F to a team that beat last year's premiers and 2 of this year's finalists is pretty rough, but you have 15 teams that you are yet to rate so let's see where that grade lands. This might be a harsh critique, but you came out swinging with this article and I am nothing if not forthcoming when it comes to defending my home town and team.