Gold Coast Suns CEO Mark Evans says the club’s rentention issues are dissolving
Suns CEO Mark Evans says the club will finally be given the clean air and stability it needs to grow after battling retention issues for most of its existence. It comes on the back of a stunnign 21st player re-signing with the club in the past 12 months
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SUNS CEO Mark Evans says the club will finally be given the clean air and stability it needs to grow after battling retention issues for most of its existence.
No. 2 draft pick Jack Lukosius, 19, has become the 21st player to re-sign with Gold Coast, inking a two-year contract extension that will tie him to the club until the end of 2022 alongside fellow top 10 draftees Ben King and Izak Rankine.
Jack Martin appears to be on the out but Evans said the movement of their stars would be limited in the coming two to three year period on the back of the commitment of the group over the past year.
SUNS FINANCIAL WINDFALL AND EXIT OF CONTROVERSIAL SPONSOR
SUNS’ STUNNING JOURNEY TO LIST
“It certainly reduces the risk of our talented players leaving across the next two to three years,” Evans said.
“With the way the system works these days there is more player movement but now we will be on the lower side of movement for the next period.
“We will have the chance to establish the group and having them commit to early in the piece means we will have a good chance to build something.”
Suns coach Stuart Dew will have a big opportunity to make something of the struggling young group as he goes into this third and final year of a contract that club hierarchy have already declared want extended.
Sceptics were critical of the Suns when Lukosius opted to put off re-signing through the season but Evans said they remained confident they would retain the 195cm tall talent.
BOWES REACTS TO SUNS POTENTIAL BID FOR MARTIN
WIGG REFLECTS ON NIGHTMARE RUN OF INJURY AND PLANS FOR FUTURE
“It’s important for players to come to that agreement in their own terms,” Evans said.
“There is no point forcing it. We would much rather have them completely assess the situation and then sign when they are prepared to commit.”
Evans said the club had been in discussions with Lukosius’ management over the past month and talks ramped up when he returned from a European holiday two weeks ago.
“From our viewpoint it means as club we have done a good job at welcoming (Lukosius, King and Rankine) and their families and that we have looked after them through their relocation to the Gold Coast,” Evans said.
“It also says something about the culture we are creating here.”
Track Watch: Doubts grow over star Sun’s Opening Round chances
The Suns could be on the verge of a major Opening Round blow, with one of their brightest stars now officially in doubt to make their first clash of the season against the Bombers.
‘F*** I miss it’: How the Cutters managed to sign former Sun
After stepping away from the AFL due to mental fatigue, former Richmond Tigers premiership star and Gold Coast Sun Brandon Ellis has rediscovered his love for the game, signing with the South Cairns Cutters for the 2025 season. This is why.