Gold Coast’s plea for AFL assistance could leave the Crows further away from the No. 1 pick
The Gold Coast Suns say they will ask the AFL for a priority pick after falling to the foot of the AFL ladder — and that is bad news for Adelaide, which holds Carlton’s first pick of the draft.
- Gold Coast session will be heated: Greenwood
- Tredrea: Why Don should unleash Crows kids in run to finals
- ‘Everyone should be on table’: Walker ready for brutal review
- Moment on Monday: What footy means to Westhoff
- ‘Worst half I’ve been involved with for a long time’
It was labelled a masterstroke but the success of the Crows’ historic trade with Carlton in last year’s AFL draft is threatened by Gold Coast’s latest plea for help.
In the wake of the Suns’ 92-point thrashing by Richmond at Metricon Stadium on Saturday — the 11th-straight loss for the Queensland expansion club under second-year coach Stuart Dew — Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane said the club would apply to the AFL for emergency assistance through a priority draft pick. The Suns seem headed for the wooden spoon, which would kill the Crows’ hope of getting the No. 1 draft pick under a deal struck when they traded their No. 19 pick to Carlton last year — the first live trade of a pick. The Blues gained Liam Stocker — but agreed to swap first-round picks with Adelaide at the next draft.
But if the Suns’ pitch to the AFL is successful, they could end up with the first two picks, pushing the Crows down the draft order.
Victorian best mates Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson are widely expected to be the top two picks in the 2019 draft.
The prospect of Adelaide having the first pick, which is looking less likely as Carlton stages a revival, has also been mentioned as a possible path to gaining Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy should he want to return home to South Australia.
When contacted by The Advertiser the Crows declined to comment on the matter.
Inaugural Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna believes that rather than priority picks, the Suns need to attract more senior players. McKenna, sacked in 2014 after four years at the helm, said the struggling club would go down the wrong path if it continued to put all its faith in youth.
“I’m personally thinking that they’ve had enough draft picks,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“That’s my gut feel and that was my concern even when I was up there — just saying we’ve had enough of these young kids.”
AFL commission chairman Richard Goyder last month revealed the league was considering rules to force high-end draft picks to stay at the Suns and Lions for longer than the mandatory two seasons.
The Suns were handed special access to state league players ahead of last year’s national draft, as well as receiving additional funding for their development academy in a bid to lift them from the bottom — where they have spent much of their AFL existence.
In 2018, the Suns selected exciting South Australian prospects Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine with the second and third picks of the draft.