Season 2022 - Gold Coast

Have to be top 10 or dew goes. Whilst I think he may have been an ok be coach at a semi decent club they just cannot afford to keep him, especially when you have guys like Clarkson and Buckley sitting there available. And least they would bring some profile and respect to the club, which might help them retain a few players.

There’s more than enough talent there. Clarkson would have this side pushing for a prelim within 12 months I suspect.

Given the choice between Hawthorns list and GC, you’d take gc every time. Indeed I’d take the list over just about anyone outside the 8 last season. All the pieces are there

Where young talent goes to die.
Maybe 13th.
Maybe last if they tank.

Why the fck would Ben King want to stay at this plastic shell of a club his talent will go to waste if he stays.

He can come to Essendon play in front of big crowds imagine King kicking a bag of 6 as we thrash the Pies on Anzac Day

Agree on this, the problem is young talent in a ■■■■ environment for any more than 3 years will have their potential ceiling cut down by almost 50 percent imo. You can already see it with guys like ainsworth and rankine, they are a shell of the players they came to the club as or could have been after playing under dew. I’d be worried about rowell if he doesn’t regain his year 1 form this season, he was very ordinary last year.

To my knowledge, no sporting team has ever been successful in any code when based in Gold Coast.

However, at least the sport is growing in Qld.

GC Suns success can’t just be measured by onfield performance.

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One thing the Suns are doing really well is encouraging participation in primary and secondary schools on the Gold Coast. They are closely involved with the inter-school competition as well and take a genuine interest.

They are also regularly running clinics and having player visits at schools to build their brand and help increase youth participation in the sport.

We are not just talking about an unenthusiastic Q&A ‘once a year’ school visit which some Melbourne clubs (including our own) do either.

We can knock them all we like for their onfield results but they are doing a damn good job off the field building AFL profile on the coast.

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I’m keen to see how hollands goes this year.

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I’m keener to see how Essendon players go

Yeah, they’ve qualified early.
A bit could depend on the draw, and of course it’s not the glory days of Cruyf etc, but they can surprise, and have a history of talented youngsters so who knows how they’ll go in Qatar.

Hang on - I just realised you might be interested in a minor player for an irrelevant AFL Club instead.
Didn’t expect that.

So women participation grew by 90k, but overall grew by 97k? So 7k more blokes played in 2019 than in 2014?

Am I reading this right?

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Hmmmm if you drill down into that i’d say it has more to do with aflw than the GC men’s team. The increase in male participation isn’t all that much

That’s all well and good but no aspiring Gold
Coast footy kid would want to join the suns when they are constantly crap on filed and always have players leaving. I know I wouldn’t Brisbane Lions would be my team of choice to get drafted by.

Of course there would be an element in their work in schools to get these kids to games and (hopefully) support the Suns, but they are also there doing a great job for the AFL in building the brand.

Like I said in my previous post, knock their results on the field but they are doing a lot of good things in the community that the general football public in Melbourne know little about.

Yeah it’s actually a pretty poor increase in male participation. Female increases happened everywhere once aflw came about, so a bit of manipulation of figures from tony c0ckface and the likes when stating how much the suns have increased participation in the local area.

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Surely population went up proportionally faster in 5 years?

Not sure if public yet, Brad Miller’s signed on to coach there. Had 3-4 years at GWS then a few years off while he had his kid.

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Fold and die

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No pressure Stew

Gold Coast Suns AFL news: Jack Lukosius opens up about contract discussions.

Tom Boswell

JACK Lukosius says on-field success in 2022 will dictate whether or not he re-signs with the Suns but is confident the teamcan deliver.

But any hope Gold Coast had of locking away one of the AFL’s brightest young stars early looks lost with Lukosius saying: “I don’t think anything will happen in the next couple of weeks”.

“I’m sure as the year goes on the club will talk to my manager and they will sort it out.

All I can do is play my role for the team really well,” Lukosius said.

The 21-year-old, who has made the move from defence into the forward line in the pre-season, said results will play the biggestrole in his decision making.

Gold Coast Suns player Jack Lukosius at the Austworld Centre at Carrara. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Gold Coast Suns player Jack Lukosius at the Austworld Centre at Carrara. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

“I have played for three seasons now and haven’t won a whole heap so I definitely want success,” he said.

“I definitely think the club is on the right path and I need to play my part in achieving that.

“I think everyone sees and feels the improvement but consistency throughout the year is what will take us to the next level.

“Our best footy is good. We almost beat the (Western) Bulldogs late last year and they were flying so I think the confidenceis there.

“We are young so being mentally refreshed and being able to prepare and play well for 23 games - that will be whether we makeit or not.”

Lukosius signed his first contract extension with the Suns at the end of his first season in 2019, waiting until November to do it.

He lives with teammate Ben King who is also out of contract at the end of the 2022 season and the said the duo wouldlean on each other throughout the season as scrutiny surrounding their future intensifies.

The pair played in defence together at the AFL Academy and will now do the same in the forward line for Gold Coast this seasonafter Lukosius spent the majority of his first three seasons and 60 games playing either as a defender or on a wing.

Jack Lukosius has opened up about his contract. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images.

Jack Lukosius has opened up about his contract. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images.

Lukosius said he was becoming more comfortable in front of goal and revealed the conversation with coach Stuart Dew that sparkedthe position switch.

“Being in front of the ball and reading everything in front has taken a bit of time but I’m really looking forward to theseason ahead,” Lukosius said.

“I have always spoken pretty openly to Dewy about my thoughts on footy and I think we see the game pretty similarly.

“He came with it to me, gave me a call at the end of last season when we had two weeks in isolation up here we had a debriefabout the year and what not.

“We decided it might be a good idea. As the off-season went on it grew and grew by little bits and then we decided to committo it. It is exciting.”

Dew is eager to use Lukosius’ elite kicking in order to both deliver the ball from around the arc to an awaiting King deepin the square but Lukosius said the pair would be interchangeable throughout a game.

“We will be looking to use my kick as much as we can but I might roll deep at times and Kingy will be up the ground,” Lukosiussaid.

“Hopefully I can take a defender with me and leave him one out because one-out not many can go with him.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of ways it works throughout the year but it is exciting to be working with him.”

Inside contract discussions with key Suns trio

THE Suns are confident they have the war chest needed to stave off poaching bids from rival clubs and retain three of its hottest talents.

Talls Ben King, Jack Lukosius and small forward Izak Rankine all come out of contract at the end of the 2022 AFL season and will be three of the biggest players on the market if they choose to look outside of Gold Coast.

New Suns football manager Wayne Campbell said numerous discussions had already been held with the group about their futures, with the players giving every indication they are committed to the club.

“The feedback from them has been really positive,” Campbell said.

Ben King handballs during the Gold Coast Suns AFL training session at Metricon Stadium on January 28, 2022 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Ben King handballs during the Gold Coast Suns AFL training session at Metricon Stadium on January 28, 2022 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“They walk around with a smile on their face. They are really committed to the Gold Coast and the Gold Coast Suns.

“They love being up here and we are really relaxed with where it is at. It seems positive.

“We would love their signature (now) but it’s not something we wake up everyday thinking about.”

Campbell also said the club had enough room in the salary cap to match rival offers and ensure their keep the players who are critical to its future.

King, a full forward who has kicked 89 goals in 53 games, is understood to be on around $650,000 while Jack Lukosius, one of the best field kicks in the AFL, is understood to be on around $600,000.

Jack Lukosius of the Suns is out of contract at the end of the 2022 season. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Jack Lukosius of the Suns is out of contract at the end of the 2022 season. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Rankine had an injury-interrupted opening to his career and been in and out of the side with form issues while showing glimpses of his best.

Opposition recruiters rank them as key targets who could add enormous value to a list if prized away from Queensland.

Gold Coast has been stripped of elite players throughout the course of its 11 years in the AFL, with Tom Lynch, Steven May, Gary Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia among those to leave.

There is a growing sense of optimism around Gold Coast after becoming more competitive in recent seasons while coach Stuart Dew and the football department rebuilt the list.

But pressure to perform is rising in 2022. Dew is in the final year of his contract and a list that is still one of the youngest in the league is pushing to make finals for the first time.

If King, Lukosius and Rankine haven’t decided on their future and the club falls short of internal expectation it could make retaining the trio difficult.

Gone

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