'Major players in the draft': Suns snare AFL commission concessions

The trouble is the Bulldogs need points to match Sam Darcy and the Pies need points to match Nick Daicos. You both need a third club to put up the points for Collingwood's future 2nd or else the Dogs can take it and try to trade for their own points. However, I think the Pies will offer a future third or ask something back for their future second. Suns have the 2021 picks. Collingwood puts up future third-round pick Bulldogs put up Lipinski Suns put up picks 55, 58 and 66 Collingwood get Lipinski Bulldogs get 55, 58 and 66 Suns get future third-round pick Pies hold the whip hand because Lipinski could walk into the PSD, so the Dogs need to take what they can get and the Suns risk the Pies finishing high on the ladder and the pick losing value. Having run the whole deal, can't see the Pies parting with a second round, but if they did the Suns would be happy to put up their pick 43 which would go to Collingwood anyway and leave the Dogs with the same deal or maybe slightly better.

You don't know what you're talking about in terms of footy on the Gold Coast. GWS can get relocated to Canberra for all I care, but the Suns are a completely different kettle of fish. The GCAFL was founded 60 years ago and the Bears were given a licence 35 years ago. The Southport Sharks, the most successful non-AFL club in Queensland history, have been trying to gain entry into the AFL for as long as I can remember. They tried to lure the Melbourne Demons into a merger in 2004, which gave the AFL the idea to relocate North Melbourne in 2006. Finally, the Sharks financed the GC17 bid to the tune of $10 million and the AFL green-lit the bid. The Gold Coast region has been producing AFL players for decades, but the Suns also represent new frontiers for the AFL in the Tweed-Byron region, Central Queensland, Far North Queensland, Darwin and PNG, with players in the AFL, VFL and AFLW team from all of these areas. AFL is the product. The Suns are the pioneers taking the game to places that had never even seen a Sherrin that now have 100s of players. Participation in AFL programs in Queensland has gone UP during Covid despite lockdowns and cancelled competitions. It is real and your petty grievances are like piss in the ocean.

Agree with most of what you've said there, except I really do believe that parity with GWS is important in terms of set up, especially given this is the second reset since start up so the picks represent a belated reparation. Nobody else has to like it, but it really has been necessary. What I believe will happen with the surplus of young players is what happened with GWS and they will be on-traded. It really doesn't appear that A-grade players are lining up to come to the club, perhaps because of the coach, so the draft is the only way to build right now. The interesting thing about the Melbourne list build is that only one player of the 6 over 30 on their list played in the Grand Final, while 17 were 26 or under with 5 in that 26 to 29 sweet spot. 10 players will turn 26 next year, then a further 3 the year after. And for both those years they can reload with players, quietly bringing in new draftees and trade targets, with the likes of Nathan Jones and Nev Jetta retiring. The Suns are a couple of years behind, but are building this kind of list profile. 4 (possibly 5) players over 26 will be off the list and replaced by rookies and 1 or 2 mature players, while each week only about 6 to 9 players will be over 26. Where Melbourne had 8 players under 23 in the GF, the Suns could field an entire side under 23 which would actually be viable and 14 of them are probable best 22 players. Craig Cameron spoke of not wanting to keep "hollowing out" the list for the sake of turnover, but you get the feeling that if the right player expresses interest in coming that the list managers will flip their whole strategy in order to land that big fish.

"This round of extravagant concessions are done, time will tell if the AFL plump up another round." You have to ask for concession, so I presumed you knew that when you wrote this. The point of the AFL concessions was to address the poor start up. The Suns asked for every single one of them, but had the main one rejected which was asking for more money. Actually, Covid meant that we have even less money.

Why? Players do it, coaches do it. A bunch of Fitzroy supporters switched to St Kilda. South Melbourne fans too. I was a Brisbane Bears supporter when they were on the Gold Coast, then they relocated to the Gabba and were merged with the Lions. When my local club, Southport Sharks, put up $10 million to launch GC17, I decided to change clubs. It was a brave move, which my of my fellow Suns fans made. You'd be one of those Suns members who lives for Blues games at Metricon.

There's clearly something wrong with you. You've never once had anything good to say on my articles' comments. What's the point of that? It just comes across as belligerent trolling. We've had this out before, but you keep coming back. It's perverse.

"Unless you know him personally and talk to him regularly, why should we take your word over someone like Matthew Lloyd or Kane Cornes anyway?" These two clowns are not credible. They are biased, parochial, sensationalist media heads who are employed to come up with crazy scenarios and inflate fake stories until they go viral. "It’s ironic that you are calling supporters of other clubs arrogant but I think you fit that description to a tee." I think you are projecting here. I quite humbly accept feedback and value add my articles by engaging readers. Your arrogance in coming onto the comments of the article I wrote is a bit much. "The Suns are not beyond reproach and you get way too antagonistic when there is even a hint of criticism of them it seems." You're a gaslighter. One minute you are dumping on my writing and ideas as well as reading other contributors doing the same, then the next you are pretending that none of it is happening and I am over-reacting.

It is widely known that Ben King hated the scrutiny on his first contract extension, so I don't need to be Kane Cornes or Matthew Lloyd to suggest that the constant palaver coming out of Melbourne is still annoying. When Ben King says that he doesn't want to even talk about a new contract in the offseason I don't think it can be any clearer. As for smugness, #NotAllSaints would be a good hashtag for you. For three years I've been witnessing snide arrogance from Saints fans after the club itself sent a Tweet on Max and Ben's draft night saying see you in 2 years.

You know that Kaine Baldwin had moved to the Gold Coast, enrolled at Uni and had joined the Suns Academy, but the Bombers got him in the preseason SSP when the Suns could not free up a pick in the long term injuries.

Hollands and Davies became good mates when they made the All-Australian team and had various camps together. Moyle is 205cm and has been great at VFL level against AFL listed rucks as a natural ball player. Jeffrey can be anything after a 9 goal performance in the VFL. Ace has played VFL for 3 years, as well as Allies and the Suns Academy = gun

You are being pretty selective. But I'll bite. 2021 Carlton 8 wins 2021 Gold Coast 7 wins 2020 Carlton 7 wins 2020 Gold Coast 5.5 wins 2019 Carlton 7 wins 2019 Gold Coast 3 wins 2018 Carlton 2 wins 2018 Gold Coast 4 wins 2017 Carlton 6 wins 2017 Gold Coast 6 wins 2016 Carlton 7 wins 2016 Gold Coast 6 wins 2015 Carlton 4 wins 2015 Gold Coast 4 wins 2014 Carlton 7.5 wins 2014 Gold Coast 10 wins 2013 Carlton 12 wins 2013 Gold Coast 8 wins 2012 Carlton 11 wins 2012 Gold Coast 3 wins 2011 Carlton 15 wins 2011 Gold Coast 3 wins Carlton has had 27 more wins than the Suns across 11 seasons, including 2 finals wins, which says a lot about both clubs when you look at the spread. The Suns were simply never given enough quality players to build a competitive team, even though their very existence compromised the draft and weakened the rest of the competition for all of those 11 seasons (and obviously GWS). To blame their coaches is simplistic and to blame the players is nonsensical. The AFL did not set up the Suns properly and they have been whipping boys because of it because in direct comparison to GWS they had more top draft picks, $3 million more in salary cap and several seasons of extra list space plus access to the football riches of the Riverina. Carlton since the Suns inception started out as a middle 6 club, then through a series of poor decisions, the list stagnated to the point of needing to be rebuilt. In 2018, after the worst season in modern AFL history, the Blues were given access to pre-draft 2 2nd tier players, which ended up helping in the trades for McGovern and Setterfield, whereas the Suns got 3 such players and decided to keep them. St Kilda, who had finished 9th, 9th and 17th, were told that their demise was of their own making and would not qualify for concessions. I agree that the AFL should have come back to Carlton with better concessions, but from what I read about that AFL Commission meeting they wanted to be convinced in 2019 that each club could justify concessions and outline what they needed and why. The formula for priority pick involves consistently poor win/loss ratios, poor percentage, time since last appearing in finals, injury lists and other secret herbs and spices. The Suns, if you will recall, were in 2019 in the midst of having top players asking to leave for the 5th offseason in a row, including 3 captains and a truckload of first round picks. The priority picks were 2019 picks 2 and 19, 2020 pick 11, and 2021 pick 19. Carlton got the 2019 pick 19, which was worth 22 at the time of live trading plus 16 (and Jack Martin) for pick 11 (which was the pick that Carlton steadfastly refused to use to trade for Jack Martin). The Suns have turned their picks into Noah Anderson, part of Sam Flanders and part of Jeremy Sharp, with one more pick this year. The ability to pre-draft has been even better, if I'm honest, because having access to QLD and NT youth is something we can build a foundation on, unlike having a breathless southern press continually speculating about Luko or Kingy wanting to go home (they totally don't want to go home and are frankly annoyed by the constant speculation). Brisbane Lions had 40% of their list either from QLD/NT or connected the Fitzroy during their Threepeat, which they had gone away from and have since gone back towards. It is disingenuous to say that the Suns will just keep asking for concessions given the history I've outlined. I do agree that Carlton should have received better concessions in 2018, but the timing of the Suns massive 18 game losing streak and endless injury toll after Dew's second season at the same time as Carlton's dramatic improvement under Teague's caretaker coaching was as bad for the Blues as it was perfect for the Suns. As Craig Cameron said yesterday, it wasn't the Suns' number of injuries that cruelled their season, it was who got injured. By the end of the season, 10 first choice players were injured, including the ruck and captain Witts, experienced recruits Ellis, Greenwood and Markov, key players Weller and Holman, young guns Connor Budarick and Matt Conroy and veterans Day and Thompson.