Gold Coast Suns midfielder Brayden Fiorini thriving under Stuart Dew
ON A wing with some dare, Gold Coast’s Brayden Fiorini is loving life under new Suns senior coach Stuart Dew as the Suns try to defeat Adelaide for the first time.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
ON A wing with some dare, Gold Coast’s Brayden Fiorini is loving life under new Suns senior coach Stuart Dew.
Ahead of Saturday night’s clash against Adelaide, the silky-skilled wingman says the surprise-packet Suns are responding to the hard but fair approach of the new boss.
Foundation Sun Michael Rischitelli has been a rock for the club on and off the field, but finds himself out of the first-choice 22 for the trip to Adelaide after a quiet night against Brisbane in the QClash last weekend.
Playing your role carries much more weight with Dew than reputation.
After five rounds, only percentage is keeping Gold Coast (3-2) out of the top eight with Fiorini averaging 21.4 disposals per game.
The No. 20 pick from the 2015 draft was excellent against the Lions with 27 touches, two goals, nine marks, two clearances, three inside-50s, four rebound-50s and a scoring assist in the Suns’ five-point victory.
“Stuey is big on how it doesn’t matter how many touches you get, it’s all about playing your role week-in, week-out and if you can do that, you are bound to keep your spot,’’ Fiorini said.
“For me out on the wing, it’s two-way running up and down, covering the outlets and defensive acts. When I’m inside, it’s all about the contested stuff.
“He has been really strong on it and I’ve been grateful for the opportunity.
“I’ve played five senior games in a row this season which is the most I’ve played in my AFL career. It’s allowed me to build some continuity and I’m enjoying every moment.’’
Fiorini played 13 games last year and averaged 21 touches a match but needed to bulk up to command a regular spot in the senior side given he started 2017 at just 75kg.
The 20-year-old added eight kilograms to his 186cm frame over the next 12 months and represents the next wave of Suns young guns.
The Suns have never beaten Adelaide and Fiorini said defensive pressure and winning contested ball would be the keys to a breakthrough victory.
“Beating Adelaide in Adelaide is a great challenge for any team. We have to match them on the inside and bring our pressure and tackling again like we did against Brisbane,’’ he said.
“When we do those things, we are hard to play against. Our offence flows from our defence so we want to win the ball and get them on the counter-attack and get it into our forward line quickly because their backline sets up well.
“We are happy to be above the .500 mark (more wins than losses) but we know we have to keep improving if we want to stay there.’’
Originally published as Gold Coast Suns midfielder Brayden Fiorini thriving under Stuart Dew