Gold Coast Suns CEO outlines the club’s expectations for the 2023 AFL season
Suns CEO Mark Evans has outlined the club’s expectations for the 2023 season after falling just short of an inaugural finals campaign in 2022. READ HIS PLAN
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TWO-TIME Suns club champion Touk Miller has made the bold declaration that the current Gold Coast team is going to build an AFL dynasty under his watch.
Speaking at the Gold Coast Suns annual awards night on Thursday, Miller was staunch in his belief that the club, which hasnever played finals, would not only go on to win a premiership but do it multiple times.
“This club and its people are going to be in a unique situation within AFL history,” Miller said.
“We are going to be the first to win a VFL grand final, starting this year. We are going to be the first Gold Coast AFL team to play finals, we are going to be the first (Gold Coast) AFL team to win a grand final and we are going to be the first Gold Coast AFL team to have a dynasty.
“I feel like if you are striving for one finals campaign or one grand final win, I don’t think that is the ultimate goal.
“There is no finish line. Going forward you never know what could happen. We could be the team that makes the club a top fourside like a Geelong or a Sydney where you don’t miss finals for 20-odd years. That is what we want to do. To do that you haveto start performing now. You have to set lofty goals and that is what I want to do.”
Miller, 26, was also named the club’s player’s player for the fourth time and was given life membership by the Suns.
The accolades came 24 hours after he was recognised as the AFL coaches’ champion player of the year and named in the All-Australian team.
But there is no wall in the inspirational Suns leader’s home that will house his growing number of laurels.
“I don’t really hang anything up,” he said.
“I’m not that type of guy. The only stuff I do have on my beachside are the (Suns) community award and the player’s player because they mean the most to me.
“Everything else is collecting dust under the bed. It sounds bad but it’s how it is. You have to keep moving forward from what you do.”
Club champion runner-up Noah Anderson, 21, spoke of his love for the club and his connection with the playing group but wascoy about his future when asked if it meant he would extend his contract beyond 2023.
“Like I said, I love it here,” Anderson said.
“I haven’t thought about (the contract) as much as I thought I would as we were pretty competitive the whole year.
“I tried to just enjoy the games and playing with people like Touk and Dave (Swallow) was pretty special.”
Wantaway Suns small forward Izak Rankine, who requested a trade to Adelaide earlier this week, was in attendance hours after Suns chairman Tony Cochrane spoke of his disappointment about the decision, saying “money talks”.
But Cochrane channelled a quote from a wall near Emirates Stadium, home of English Premier League club Arsenal in London,when addressing the transformation of the club.
“The writing on the wall said ‘everything we want is on the other side of fear. We are fearless. We are Arsenal’.
“I believe that is us. That is what this great club has turned itself into.”
Suns CEO Mark Evans said the club had achieved its goal to “rise” and were now looking to “contend” in 2023.
“Rise means moving towards finals, competing with the best I most games and genuine excitement about what is to come,” Evanssaid.
“Contend is different. Contend means you first qualify for finals and then you head deep into September and then you bring home silverware on the last Saturday in September at the
MCG.”
Decision made: Rankine makes call on his future
IZAK Rankine has informed the Gold Coast Suns he would like a trade to the Adelaide Crows.
Rankine told club officials on Monday of his desire to join the Crows, who have reportedly offered him a five-year deal worth around $4 million.
The Gold Coast playing group has not yet been informed.
It is a big loss for the Suns but one they weren’t shocked by given the money offered to the 22-year-old who is set to return to his home state of South Australia.
Rankine has been grappling with the decision in recent weeks, weighing up the enormous pay packet against the connection he has with the Suns playing group who just missed out on playing in the 2022 finals after winning an equal record 10 games this season.
Members of the Suns leadership group tried to convince him to remain at the club and came close to doing so but ultimately Rankine opted to leave.
Gold Coast were unwilling to break the bank to keep Rankine and were understood to be offering around $650,000 a season.
Under coach Stuart Dew the club has been staunch about no longer paying overs to retain or recruit players – a problem that got Gold Coast into salary cap problems in previous years.
Instead they have improved the culture and relied on the football program to keep players engaged.
The biggest question will now be what Gold Coast and Adelaide believe is a fair trade for the goal sneak who arrived with pick 3 of the 2018 AFL draft.
It’s understood the Suns are interested in picks over players and are already eyeing the Crows fifth selection in this years draft.
Rankine has played 48 games for the Suns, kicking 57 goals. His form has been up and down in the early stages of his career, with Rankine showing glimpses of becoming an elite match winner between some injury problems while often drawing the opposition’s best defender.
He has been shut out of some games but has continued to improve on the back of his defensive pressure in the forward half, averaing 6.2 score involvements and 1 goal assist in 2022, ranking elite in both areas.
Suns general manager of player talent and strategy Craig Cameron said the club was disappointed to lose Rankine and were determined to garner the best deal posible for the forward.
“We have created a football club where our players and staff are committed to success, so we’re disappointed with his decision,” Cameron said.
“We’ve provided an environment and support network around Izak since he was drafted to help him play his best football and it’s disappointing that journey won’t continue.”
Gold Coast is confident it has the playing stocks to cover Rankine. Northern Territory product Malcolm Rosas has been a livewire since making his debut in 2021, Ben Ainsworth is in career-best form and Alex Sexton showed he still has a lot to offer after booting six goals in the club’s win over North Melbourne at the weekend.
Originally published as Gold Coast Suns CEO outlines the club’s expectations for the 2023 AFL season
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