Fantasy Freako: What Damien Hardwick’s Gold Coast revolution means for SuperCoach AFL

As Damien Hardwick’s revolution takes place at Gold Coast, the SuperCoach winners and losers are emerging. FANTASY FREAKO breaks down Dimma’s likely impact and reveals the key numbers.

Damien Hardwick is a winner, and his arrival means a great deal to a club like Gold Coast. To get a three-time premiership coach and a two-time premiership player commit to your club is a huge boost to the young playing list.

What he brings first and foremost is success – something that has eluded the Suns since coming into the league in 2011. He also brings a new energy and a wealth of experience, and will no doubt bring some of the Tigers’ DNA to Gold Coast.

The goal for Hardwick would be to lead the Suns to their inaugural finals campaign and then from there anything can happen. Whether that’s in 2024 remains to be seen.

Richmond – 2010-2023

Looking at game style, the Tigers brand was obvious to everyone. Win the ball back from the opposition and then surge forward, preferably by hand. No team gained more metres from handballs than the Tigers over his tenure at the club.

Richmond’s turnover game was the most complete of any team, and it was its main score source. They weren’t a high pressure or tackling team – more so relying on team defence. But they were the benchmark for creating turnovers – and then scored well off the back of that.

Richmond moved the ball primarily via the wing and it was direct, with 44% of kicks directed long – the highest percentage in the competition.

They also perfected the forward half game, and it was a key factor in their prolonged success.

They didn’t get bogged down into stoppage battles and in terms of winning clearances – they ranked in the bottom-four for clearance differential in every year from 2018-2022.

Hardwick was more than happy to concede the clearance, but once the opposition turned the ball over from stoppage the Tigers would punish them going the other way.

In terms of personnel, Hardwick was quite public in declaring that the Suns already have the makings of a premiership team. His key pillars at Richmond were important, and it could be argued that he has like-for-likes at his disposal at the Suns.

Connor Budarick looks set to be Damien Hardwick’s quarterback. Picture: Keith McInnes

Jayden Short — Connor Budarick

Short was Richmond’s quarterback – a distributor in defence from either a kick-in, uncontested mark or handball-receive. The Tigers always looked to get the ball into his hands and his run, carry, and direct kicking made him a valuable player. Budarick, a player similar in stature, could see himself in this role. He ranked eighth for metres gained per game at the club in his limited matches in 2023. But with just one match over 20 disposals in 28 games – there is no evidence of him being a prolific ball winner like Short.

Trent Cotchin — Touk Miller

Cotchin was a warrior for Hardwick, and he led them during the glory years. He was criticised early in his career for not be a damaging player with ball in hand, but as his career progressed, he made changes to his game and offered plenty – both in the midfield and the forward half of the ground. Miller is Gold Coast’s warrior. A player that puts his head down and is team oriented. Injury came at the worst time for him last season – but at his best very few players hunt the ball with the same ferocity. He is a gun – averaging 120+ points in both 2021 and 2022.

Bailey Humphrey is built in the Dustin Martin mould. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Dustin Martin — Bailey Humphrey

Let’s face it, no team has a Dustin Martin on their list – but they do have player’s that possess some of the traits of the three-time premiership and three-time Norm Smith Medallist. Martin was Hardwick’s golden goose, and he was the star of the show. A genuine matchwinner – he possessed an ability to win the ball all over the field and go forward and hit the scoreboard. With just one centimetre separating Martin and Humphrey in height, the latter could be Hardwick’s answer to Martin. A powerful player with just 19 games under his belt, the sky is the limit.

Jack Riewoldt — Ben King

Riewoldt carried the forward-line for many seasons at Richmond. He averaged well over two goals across his career – enjoying his best season in Hardwick’s first year in 2010 where he booted 78 goals. He was a durable player – capable of taking towering marks – while also being just as capable at ground level. King hasn’t shown the same durability as Riewoldt to date, but he will be the Suns’ focal point in attack. King has averaged two goals in each of the last two seasons.

Jarrod Witts has long led Gold Coast’s midfield. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Toby Nankervis — Jarrod Witts

Nankervis was the bullocking ram for Hardwick – often doing the dirty work despite being the ruckman. His ruck work was solid – but his pressure and defensive effort was the bread and butter of his game. Witts is a contrast to Nankervis – a much better tap ruckman that offers slightly less around the ground. Witts’ defensive game isn’t the same either and he hasn’t contributed as much on the scoreboard.

Kane Lambert — Sam Flanders

Lambert was the link player around the ground for Hardwick and was often involved in scoring chains – while also shining as an assist and goalkicker himself. He would often start in the forward half and then push up the ground to get involved in the play. He was also used at centre bounces, but his attendance often resulted in an important clearance for the team. Flanders enjoyed a breakout in the second half of last season after being handed more time in the midfield. He was prolific at times and had 30+ disposals four times from Round 18.

Alex Rance — Sam Collins

Rance had a great balance between offence and defence at fullback – while his work in one-on-ones was also outstanding. He was an elite interceptor and the Tigers often launched scores on the back of his work – whether that be via a mark or just reading the play. Collins more than holds his own in one-on-ones and lost just 20% of them last year – the best result of his career. He has averaged close to three intercept marks in each of the last five seasons.

Matt Rowell. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Dion Prestia — Matt Rowell

Prestia often found himself at the bottom of packs and was the fire starter for Hardwick. He worked hard going both ways and was industrious at stoppages. He wasn’t a major goalscorer – but he did bring teammates into the game via assists. Rowell often finds himself at the bottom of packs and he too has had his injury woes. Rowell’s game is built around winning his own ball – while his defensive play is relentless – leading the AFL for tackles last year.

Shane Edwards — Malcolm Rosas

Mercurial would be the best word to describe Edwards. When the Tigers needed a goal, it would often be Edwards that stepped up to kick a miraculous grubber along the ground to get them back in the game. Although Rosas doesn’t have the same runs on the board as an Edwards, he possesses some of the same traits with his elusiveness and eye for goal at the forefront.

What does it mean for our SuperCoach team?

Richmond’s game plan wasn’t overly fantasy friendly. It wasn’t a high marking team and didn’t get bogged down in stoppage battles. Should Hardwick deploy a similar style at the Suns, we could see a small dip in the numbers of Rowell, Miller, and Anderson as there won’t be as many stoppages – hence impacting pre-clearance tackle and contested possession numbers. But In saying that, we could see a spike in their transition numbers as that’s the way Hardwick prefers to play. Regardless – the trio remain excellent options in SuperCoach.

In Hardwick’s final six full seasons in charge, only one player – Dustin Martin averaged over 100 SuperCoach points. The gap between him and the next best player was a significant one. Below are the leading scores from 2017-2022:

I can’t see the gap between the top-two scorers being as vast which bodes well for SuperCoach assets. Then midfield trio of Miller, Rowell, and Anderson should average three figures if everything goes right.

Hardwick’s first match in charge was the match simulation against Brisbane – while he faces GWS Giants in the AAMI Community Series. He will look to implement his style of play in these games and fine tune any tactics ahead of the season proper.

There will also be plenty to gain from a SuperCoach point of view – largely around positional changes and the game style. Will the Suns go from being a short kicking team to one that goes long – like Richmond? Or will they adopt quicker ball movement and play on after a mark more often than the Suns of 2023? Hopefully, these questions will be answered after the two games. We’ll also get a look at Gold Coast when its hosts Carlton in the season opener at Heritage Bank Stadium.

With any new coach there will be positional changes and Hardwick’s view of the playing list may differ to those before him, while he may also hand opportunities to those that have been on the outer in the past.

Alex Sexton has been swung to defence in one of Damien Hardwick’s first moves. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

We have already seen Alex Sexton in action as a defender and he found plenty of the ball in that role against the Lions. His ball use however was questionable at times which isn’t great for SuperCoach scoring. They often looked to Sexton when coming out from defence and he also provided plenty of drive through the midfield by pumping the ball inside 50 on several occasions – like Short when he bombs forward.

David Swallow is another player that has seen a positional change – also moving to defence, while Darcy Macpherson has switched ends and moved back into attack.

The mid-forward split of Sam Flanders and Bailey Humphrey will be of interest – with Flanders heavily backed by SuperCoaches after his strong end to last year. They could be duly rewarded after Damien Hardwick came out recently to endorsed Flanders as a selection. “For all those people who play SuperCoach out there get this kid in your side, we’re going to feed him as much as we can.”

That there is a gift from the Gold Coast coach and despite having the early bye – the positives of owning Flanders far outweigh the negatives. If he starts with a big score against Carlton in the opening round, he will be hard to resist.

Against the Lions, the centre bounce setup was quite settled with Miller, Anderson, Rowell, and Flanders attending pretty much all of them. Humphries was used sparingly.

Sam Flanders rocketed home in the last 10 rounds of 2023. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Witts will carry the ruck division again, but he has a more than capable deputy in Ned Moyle. Should Witts succumb to injury at any stage – Moyle will step in after averaging 116 in the VFL last year.

Budarick will be another player to keep an eye on. If he gets an attacking role then he may enter SuperCoaches thoughts – albeit at an awkward mid-price. He was busy against the Lions and took kick-ins which is a huge bonus. He and Sexton often looked for one another in the defensive 50 which is more than handy.

Bodhi Uwland has shown plenty in defence over the summer and is a rookie to watch, however, he looks earmarked for a lockdown role so don’t expect huge scores. He played in the opening two rounds last year but managed just one game thereafter.

Speaking of rookies, Hardwick has a wealth of top-end options to work with after Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers, and Will Graham joined the Suns over the pre-season via the Academy. Walter injured his collarbone at training and will miss the start of the season, but when fit there’s no doubt, he gets games. Read, Rogers and Graham are likely be eased into it at VFL level.

Loading up on the Suns in SuperCoach could be rewarding – but they have an early bye so it could lead to a subpar score in Round 3, especially if you have a few Giants in your team.

Whatever you decide – it promises to be an exciting year for the Suns.

Originally published as Fantasy Freako: What Damien Hardwick’s Gold Coast revolution means for SuperCoach AFL