Gold Coast Suns coach Stuart Dew responds to claims surrounding the axing of football department staff
Gold Coast Suns coach Stuart Dew has responded to claims his relationship with outgoing assistant Dean Solomon was fractured.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SUNS senior coach Stuart Dew says his bond with Dean Solomon is strong and the difficult decisions surrounding the redundancies of coaches has been made early to give them the best chance at finding another job.
Gold Coast’s decision to axe 14 staff from the club has been met with criticism, with much of it centred around the fact Solomon, Dew’s second in charge, was among those set to depart.
Suggestions have been made that Dew and Solomon had a relationship break down, with some insinuating the coach felt threatened by his 2IC who had applied for the Fremantle head coaching role.
MORE FOOTBALL NEWS:
UNSUNG HERO SUNS MADE REDUNDANT
WILL SUNS ALIGN WITH SOUTHPORT IN NEW SECOND TIER?
HUGE CULL AT THE GOLD COAST SUNS
But Dew has moved to clear the air, adamant he and Solomon are on good terms and that the decisions made had nothing to do with the characters or capability of those involved.
“We have had to make difficult decisions and it’s purely because of this environment,” Dew said.
“We knew and we have been saying it internally to everyone that footy clubs and departments are not going to look like what they did last year and we have been trying to prepare everyone as best we can to give them as much notice.
“That is part of the reason why doing it five weeks out from the end of the season, so they can look for other opportunities and get a head start on some of these other clubs.
“If it were me I’d just want to know, the earlier the better.”
Dew has spoken to around eight other senior coaches, with many determined not to confirm any changes to their football department until after the season in a bid to not derail their finals campaigns.
DRAFT WATCH: Part 1 – Best under and over-age chances from Qld and Northern Rivers
DRAFT WATCH: PART 2 – Best under-18 chances from Qld and Northern Rivers
DRAFT WATCH: MATURE AGE PROSPECTS FROM THE QAFL
MOST UNDERRATED COAST FOOTY PLAYERS
Nick Malceski, Ash Prescott, Justin Koschitzke and Andrew Swallow are among the other coaches set to depart the club.
All but one coach had contracts extending beyond 2020 but all the outgoing coaches have individual contracts with variations in their termination clauses, with some having anywhere from one to five months pay and more that can be paid out.
Malceski and Solomon both attended overseas personal development trips last year and it’s understood they are part of Gold Coast’s long term plans before COVID-19 struck.
Dew will also go into bat for any of the coaches let go should they need a reference for another potential job.
Gold Coast could land on a final coaching group of five to six, including himself, for 2021.
Among those left are Josh Francou (midfield), Josh Drummond (defence), Tate Kaeslar (stoppages) and Tim Clarke (development).
‘Insane position’: The key reason Noble couldn’t resist lure of Suns
Ex-Collingwood player John Noble has opened up what appealed to him about the Gold Coast Suns and why he believes the club is set for a AFL premiership tilt. More here.
Every vote: Cripps obliterates Brownlow record in wild count
Patrick Cripps has smashed the votes record with 45, seven ahead of Nick Daicos on 38, to claim a second Brownlow Medal. See every vote from every game here.