AFL Gold Coast Suns 2025 draft: Asher Eastham on living with Touk Miller, getting drafted on graduation night

Drafted moments before his graduation, Asher Eastham went from living at home in country Victoria to bunking with Touk Miller in an award-winning Gold Coast home.

Future Gold Coast recruits could be queuing up to live with Touk Miller after the Suns skipper’s hospitality scored rave reviews from a rookie draftee.

Meet Asher Eastham, the exuberant 190cm swingman from country Victoria who two weeks ago thought his AFL dream was over but is now living in the lap of luxury with Miller.

“I’ve got my own little sanctuary – two big glass sliding doors, a little garden out the front, my own ensuite … I’m loving it.”

Asher Eastham in action for Vic Country. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos.

Hailing from Heyfield, a town of roughly 2000 people approximately 200km outside of Melbourne, the 18 year old’s life was turned upside down on November 22 when Gold Coast called out his name at pick 17 in the Rookie Draft.

“I missed out on the draft on the Thursday night and I was talking with dad on the Friday morning and was like, ‘what am I going to do next year? I might move to Melbourne, have a gap year and work at a school or something,” Eastham said.

“I texted (ex-Collingwood premiership player) Leigh Brown, the Heyfield senior coach, and I said ‘I’ll see you Monday at training mate’ and then Monday I ended up training with Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell.”

Eastham’s draft day story reads like the script of an early 2000s feel-good teenage tale.

He was minutes away from leaving for his school graduation when Gold Coast recruiting manager Kal Burns called to let him know he was going to be drafted.

“Thirty minutes before grad started I got drafted … I don’t know if I hijacked everyone else’s night (because) it sort of turned into mine, but it was still a good night,” Eastham joked.

After “a few quiet beers” he was packing his bags for the sun and sand of the Gold Coast, moving into Miller’s award-winning Burleigh Waters home.

He is still pinching himself.

New Suns draftees Asher Eastham, Cooper Bell, Leo Lombard and Lachlan Gulbiin. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

“Probably a week or two ago I wasn’t expecting to be living with Touk Miller,” grins Eastham, joking he sometimes feels “like a third wheel” in the house with Miller and his wife, Maddie, “so I try not to interfere”.

Having lived his entire life in the same bedroom of the family home in Heyfield, the move north has been a major one for Eastham.

As far as hosts go, Miller might be the best person he could have landed with.

“Touk has been so good for me. He’s probably one of the most professional players in the league, so living with him and learning off him has been great,” Eastham said.

“He came in the other night and said ‘catch you in the morning mate’ and I looked at my phone and it was 7:30pm – I thought ‘far out’. Normally I’m in bed by 10 or 11. But I fell asleep at 8:50pm last night which is really early for me.

“The workload here is pretty hard, so I guess you get to sleep pretty early.”

Having already sorted the rookie’s sleep schedule, Miller has also stepped in to help with Eastham’s diet.

“He’s a really good cook as well. He had me on the tools the other day cooking burgers … dad’s probably a bit angry at home, because I never helped him out with any of that but I’m already helping Touk,” the teenager said.

“He’s a pretty simple man – he’s got the steak and rice and veggies – and I know it sounds kinda boring, but when he does that steak it’s crazy. I don’t know what he does to it, but it’s probably the best steak I’ve had in my life.”

Eastham profiles as a long-term project for the Suns with plenty of raw potential.

Having spent the majority of his juniors playing forward, he was thrown into defence this year after missing out on Vic Country selection.

It is as a defender the Suns see a future for the Gippsland Power product.

Asher Eastham during a Gold Coast Suns AFL training session. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

“Missing out on the Vic Country squad was really disappointing for me,” Eastham said.

“Then I had a change of position halfway through this year. I’m more of a natural forward but I move down back into that intercept marking role.

“I’ve been working with (backline coaches) Josh Drummond and Nick Malceski who have been really good for me. I’m still trying to find my way a bit down there, but I’m slowly getting used to it.”

Now in his second week as an AFL player, Eastham admitted he was still struggling to believe it was all real.

“Do you know the (video game) NBA2K? It’s sort of like a MyCareer. I was (sitting) in a team meeting like it was my own MyCareer, (thinking) ‘this is just weird’ and then we went out to train and I was like, ‘this is just crazy’.”