Stuart Dew on what Suns said to Tom Lynch after co-captain announced his departure

SO what really happened? Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has revealed what really went down between his young players and Tom Lynch after the co-captain announced he was leaving. RECAP WEDNESDAY’S NEWS

STUART Dew has defended his players after a controversial meeting in which Tom Lynch’s loyalty was questioned by his younger teammates.

Reports of several inexperienced players criticising Lynch’s decision to quit the club and return to Melbourne emerged after a heated player meeting late last week. Dew said the Suns had been willing to keep Lynch’s decision in-house before the news was splashed across the footy world, and other players - including Steven May, who is also weighing up his future - shouldn’t necessarily expect the same treatment. “No one’s questioning Tom’s right to exercise free agency ... we understand that that’s his right, and if it wasn’t made public things would have played out a whole lot differently. “It’s case by case ... when it’s our captain meeting other clubs and there’s still three or four games to go, I think that’s where the players wanted to talk about it.” Dew said younger “emerging leaders” were drafted into an original leadership group meeting to help boost numbers with May away from the club training to be a pilot and Matt Rosa in Perth for a funeral when the news broke. “That was to get a gauge on the whole group because they wanted a collective say on where the footy club sat rather than two or three making the call for the whole playing group with 45 players.” May and Rosa were parter of a larger player meeting with Lynch the next day. “The facts are everyone had their say, some people have been singled out but that’s incorrect that that’s how it went down.” He said the decision to strip Lynch of the captaincy and do his rehabilitation away from the club was an easy one. “The thing that was put to each other was how would he feel walking in Monday when we’ve just been rolled by 90-odd points? It would be an awkward day for Tom and the other players.” Dew said the drama may have played a role in last Sunday’s 15-goal loss to Melbourne. “How we recovered from that, I’m not sure. Did it have an impact on the weekend? I don’t know. What I know is Tom’s got some great friends at this club and it would have been hard for them, no doubt, and I think maybe that did carry through a little bit.” He did have some positive news this week with May and David Swallow set to return against Richmond on Saturday. “Our vision for this week is how far can we push the reigning premier and can we give ourselves a chance? We know they start well, they play well in the middle of the game and they really finish well, so our guys are under no illusion that if they don’t roll up to play as best they can the result won’t go our way.” Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >

Originally published as Stuart Dew on what Suns said to Tom Lynch after co-captain announced his departure