Gold Coast Suns reveal future involvement in China game
THE Gold Coast Suns will not play their annual China game in 2019. Club chairman Tony Cochrane made the shock announcement and revealed why the sun set on the overseas round.
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SUNS chairman Tony Cochrane has announced the club’s decision in regards to their potential involvement in the 2019 AFL premiership game in China.
Gold Coast have told the AFL they have no interest in returning to Shanghai in 2019 after playing two fixtures against Port Adelaide in the past two season.
“ (2018) was our last foray to China,” Cochrane announced at the club’s club champion awards on Saturday night.
“The board have decided that to give the playing group every possible chance in the future that the trip is too onerous and too difficult.
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“We have stepped away from repeating the trip again to China and we will leave the Port Adelaide chairman (David Koch) to argue with someone else about the colour of their jumper.”
Cochrane praised the team’s ability to battle through a tough first half of the 2018 season where they were forced to leave their training and administration centre in Carrara and travel to all parts of Australia and to China due to the Commonwealth Games.
“The Commonwealth Games caused us many challenges. It made us a few bucks too.
“We might have been kicked out of Metricon (Stadium) and our (training and administration) centre and we might have travelled nearly 50,000km in 10 weeks.
“But you had to be impressed off the field with the attitude, the no complaints and the go and get on with it approach that all our players and staff had.
“I can’t imagine what would have been the vibe and the ill feeling if a major Melbourne club had of been asked to play every home game over a 50,000km stretch for the first 10 weeks. “But we did it. We handled it and we are going to grow because of it.
“We went to china again and I have to say once again on the field it wasn’t the greatest of days.
“Off the field I think the delegation and the work we did for the Gold Coast city was truly amazing.”
Cochrane used former U.S president John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s famous quote during an address at the Suns awards while putting the onus on the players to commit themselves to the club.
“Great footy clubs accept that to really make the place work, the team successful, to build a strong and united bond, it must be a symbiotic relationship,” Cochrane said.
“Everybody has to be truly committed, almost selfish in the institution of the club.
“In other words….ask not what your club can do for you, ask what indeed you can do for the club.
“Only when we have our Suns family in that mindset will we truly be a force.
“I believe under Stuey (Dew) and (CEO) Mark (Evans) every single day we are moving closer and closer to being that force.”
Cochrane went on to say rookie coach Dew was the best thing to happen to the club.
“Culture is all about the people and I really believe under Mark’s leadership we now have the right people in the right places.
“The appointment this year of both Stuart, of (football manager) Jon (Haines) and (list manager) Craig Cameron I truly believe has made a huge difference.
“Stuey Dew is the best thing that has ever happened to the Gold Coast Suns.
“Perhaps this year doesn’t show that because it’s a results based industry but I know this is a bloke that if we stick with him, work with him and support him, if we help him, this is a bloke who will deliver the results for us, for our club and our community.
“I love having him as part of our team.”
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