Preview of Gold Coast 2017
2016 in Review
After winning their opening three matches of the 2016 season, the future looked bright for Gold Coast. However, this illusion was shattered as the Suns only won three more games to finish 15th. They were crippled by injury — forcing them to play forty different players throughout the season, the second most in the competition. This tested the depth of their list and ultimately proved too difficult to recover from, with the Suns being uncompetitive for much of the year. Also concerning was the number of players who wanted to leave the club amidst continuing questions about the club’s culture and leadership.
Key changes to personnel
The Suns lost two dynamic young midfielders in Dion Prestia and Jaeger O’Meara.
Prestia requested to leave and found a new home in Richmond, the Suns would be disappointed to have lost another young player just as he enters the prime of his career. They did, however, receive a current and future first round pick from the Tigers and so it wasn’t a terrible deal for them. Prestia only managed 22 games over the last two seasons for the Suns and so whilst an enticing prospect for the future, his absence will not impact them much immediately.
O’Meara is an intriguing player — he burst on to the scene in his first year and was touted by some as the next Gary Ablett, but injury has curtailed his career and he hasn’t played since 2014. Gold Coast weren’t keen to trade him due to his prodigious talent, and were even prepared to let him go to the draft and receive nothing in return rather than let Hawthorn low-ball them. In the end they received pick 10 and two future second-round picks as compensation. Similarly to Prestia, O’Meara’s lack of appearances in recent years will mean that Gold Coast don’t actually lose anything from last year. However, if he recovers from his injuries, then the Suns will be very disappointed they couldn’t keep a hold of such a gifted player.
Nick Malceski retired at the end of the season after 210 AFL games. His move to the Gold Coast was largely unsuccessful; never reaching the heights he did at Sydney, he managed only 34 matches in two seasons.
The Suns added much needed experience and mature bodies to a young list, but didn’t manage to enlist any A-Grade players. Pearce Hanley moved down the road to the Gold Coast from Brisbane after 129 games. He will fit in nicely to the Suns’ backline and midfield, providing run and precision either out of defence or in the middle of the ground. Jarrod Witts was added from Collingwood to give support in the ruck to Tom Nicholls and could even take the number one ruck position in the Round 1 side. Jarryd Lyons and Michael Barlow were picked up from Adelaide and Fremantle respectively and should add depth and experience to the midfield, with Barlow immediately becoming a part of the leadership group.
Gold Coast was highly active in the draft with four top-10 picks. Ben Ainsworth (pick 4), Jack Scrimshaw (7), Will Brodie (9) and Jack Bowes (10) are all likely to feature heavily this season in the Gold Coast midfield and forward line. They also selected Brad Scheer with pick 67 and rookie Max Spencer.
Gold Coast’s Draw
Gold Coast has a relatively easy draw — of the teams they play twice, Hawthorn and North Melbourne are the only ones that played in the finals last year. They have a difficult start to the year, facing GWS, Hawthorn, Adelaide and Geelong within the first 7 rounds. However, they have a comfortable run home with their last five games against teams that finished in the bottom half of the ladder in 2016. The Suns will make history this year with the first official AFL match in China against Port Adelaide.
Looking forward to
The midfield will feature some serious quality that was missing last year. Gary Ablett and David Swallow will hope to get through the year unscathed and lead the talented, youthful midfield. Although they did lose Prestia and O’Meara, it is still full of potential. All four top-10 draft picks are likely to play regularly through the midfield and add to the vast number of talented youngsters who can play there this year including Jack Martin, Brayden Fiorini and Touk Miller.
They also have a variety of more experienced, older players in the midfield who will not only be important on the field, but also as leaders of the club for young players to model their behaviour on. Michael Barlow should be a good addition to the fledgling side and he will provide experience and leadership; he is only 29 years old and still has a few years of good football left in him. Ablett is 32 and nearing the end of his career, but it will be exciting to see one of the best players of this generation back on the park and fully fit again. Rischitelli may actually need to work really hard to find a place in the team, which speaks volumes of the rising talent and depth of midfield that Gold Coast now enjoys.
The Suns also boast one of, if not the most, potent forward lines in the league. Tom Lynch has cemented his place as one of the best players in the competition — winning back-to-back best and fairest awards at the club. This is even more impressive when you consider he is a young, key forward in a team that hasn’t won many games and has had to make the most of limited supply. He should have a fantastic year this year as the midfield delivery will surely improve and he will get even more opportunities to dominate opposition defenders. With Peter Wright as a promising second tall option, teams will find it difficult to match up on such a tall and balanced forward line. The depth in the midfield will mean that skilled midfielders will rest in the forward line and wreak havoc at ground level. Jack Martin, Ablett and new recruit Lyons will likely spend quite a bit of time in the forward line and should be able to kick goals on a weekly basis.
Gold Coast also enjoys loads of speed and class from the backline Harbrow, Saad and Kolodjashnij are all pacy small defenders who can be relied upon to break lines and start attacks from defence. In Rory Thompson and Steven May they also have dependable lock-down defenders, barring May feeling the need to poleaxe anyone this year.
All in all, the Suns have quite a balanced side, if fully fit. Especially exciting is the young talent on offer this season — all four top-ten draft picks are likely to play regularly. This season, compared to Suns’ seasons of the past, immature players will not make up the bulk of the team, but will be helped by senior players and bigger bodies — likely spending more time in the forward line to improve their fitness for the demands of AFL.
Worried about
Last season’s injury list was ridiculously long and certainly an element of bad luck was involved, but it did expose a lack of depth at the Gold Coast. Whilst they do have a large crop of talented youngsters, they don’t yet have enough players who are ready to slot straight in and perform at AFL level. The losses of O’Meara and Prestia will also hurt the Suns, although they have hardly (or not at all in O’Meara’s case) played in the last two seasons, their return would have bolstered the midfield. The Suns have struggled to hold onto young players, and will be frustrated that they have spent so long developing these players only for them to play their best football at other clubs.
The Suns rely heavily on a few players, obviously in the past this was Gary Ablett, who they will still need to play well, but this year, Lynch is probably more important to the Suns than any other player in the AFL is to their team. Lynch kicked 66 of the 258 goals scored by the Suns last year — a remarkable 26%. This reliance on one player, albeit a brilliant one, cannot be healthy for a successful side that wants to challenge for finals places. They will need their other tall forwards to have good years so that Lynch doesn’t feel the pressure to perform each week. The long-term injury to Sam Day will not help this reliance on Lynch.
The Suns still lack experience in the AFL amongst their players — they have some senior players around 30 and a lot of young players yet to play 50 games, but lack a core group who have played around 100 games and are in the prime of their careers. This year will be a good chance to get a look at new draftees and further their development, but it might be a bit much to expect these players to be ready to consistently perform and win enough games to be in contention in September.
It’s a big season for:
Gary Ablett: Last year he battled injury, faced rumours of returning home to Geelong in the offseason, and now has been booted from the leadership group. This year he will be desperate to be back to doing what he does best — playing footy. Having only played 20 games over the last two seasons, most of which were affected by injury, he will be eager to have a full year of football. Now that his team doesn’t rely so heavily on his performance, he may be able to break free and return to being the dominant player of the league. He is, however, likely to spend more time in the forward line, especially if the midfield can be effective without him. He has always been potent around goal and he will cause nightmares for defenders and coaches trying to find a match-up for him.
Steven May: He has been a solid defender for six years, in command of the backline and has now become joint club captain with Tom Lynch. At just 25 years old and with only 88 games under his belt, he is younger and less experienced than most other club captains, but he is a well-respected leader of the club. Gold Coast will be looking to him to provide a strong presence in the backline, using physicality to beat his opponent. He needs to make sure his aggression is focused on the field to avoid ugly incidents like the bump on Stefan Martin that cost him a five-week suspension in 2016. May, with Lynch, has the chance to create a new legacy for the Gold Coast and lead the club to its first success. With such a young list, the leaders of the club are vital in ensuring long-term success and culture of a club.
David Swallow: He has managed just 6 games since winning the 2014 best and fairest, and didn’t play at all last year due to a myriad of injuries. The unlucky on-baller has the potential to be a superstar and after returning in the JLT, he will hope to play a full season. It would be unfair to expect him to be back to his best after so long out of the game, but if he can stay on the field and continue to improve as a player and a leader, then the Suns will have a much better 2017. He is one of the few Suns players in the important 23–28 age-bracket who has played around 100 games, and so will be a vital cog in building this team for success in the future.
Jack Martin: Although only 22 years old and in just his 4th season of AFL, Martin has the potential to become one of the best players in the league. Last year was easily his most consistent — he played 21 games and finished 3rd in the best and fairest. He showed that he is capable to play in all parts of the ground — kicking 9 goals as a forward in the first three games of the season, before playing as a rebounding defender to cover for injuries, and also showing he is a threat in the midfield with pace, poise and elite skills. He still has quite a light frame, which is part of the reason he is unlikely to play in the midfield permanently, but he could turn himself into a very dangerous small forward and should be looking at kicking lots of goals this year at the feet of Lynch and Wright if given the chance.
Expectations
If the Suns can avoid the horrendous injuries they suffered last year, then 2017 should be a much better year for them. The Suns will feature a very different team to last year’s version with so many players returning from injury and lots of new recruits, it will be interesting to see their impact on the field. At their best they could challenge for finals places — their top-end talent is the rival of any other club. The struggle for them will once again be a lack of depth. They need young players to step up this year if they are to challenge for a spot in the eight, but it is more likely to take another year at least for this to be achievable. They should stay well clear of the cellar dwellers, but would need some luck to contend for finals places.
Predicted finish: 13th
