Tony Cochrane joins The Heat Room podcast to discuss all the hot topics coming out of the Gold Coast Suns AFL club

“It will take us back to the trouble we were in six years ago.” Suns chairman Tony Cochrane didn’t miss when talking about the impact of list cuts to the club’s concessions, funding of the northern states, when the AFL should look at expansion, why current rules on draftee contracts are a joke and the latest on Stuart Dew’s deal.

“IT will take us back to the trouble we were in six years ago.”

Suns chairman Tony Cochrane didn’t miss when talking about the impact of list cuts to the club’s concessions, funding of the northern states, when the AFL should look at expansion, why current rules on draftee contracts are a joke and the latest on Stuart Dew’s deal.

Watch the full interview in episode 13 of The Heat Room podcast, dropping online on Thursday.

If list sizes are cut on the back of COVID-19, do you think the Suns, who have 51 on the books, should retain some sort of advantage and what would a reasonable size of that be?

We certainly have to have some concessions because we proved, unfortunately the hard way, without concessions it doesn’t work.

“I believe we will still get some concessions but we don’t know what the concessions are yet because we don’t know what list sizes will be.

“That is all part of a very big set of exersises the AFL is undertaking at the moment.

Gold Coast Suns chairman Tony Cochrane. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“If you change the list size - which will affect us and of course I accept that we are part of the show and so we are not exempt - then you still have to keep the relative concession behind it otherwise you will just take us back to the trouble we were in six years ago.

“We simply don’t have the depth (of talent) in Queensland without having a large list.

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“Also factoring into that is the NEAFL going to survive? If it doesn’t, there is talk of maybe an East Coast expansion of the VFL where we and the other three (AFL) clubs in NSW and Queensland will be involved in. That all comes into the mix.”

With resources and funding across the board set to be under threat of review on the back of COVID-19, how do you plan to ensure the growth of Australian rules in Queensland and the Northern Rivers isn’t set back?

“I would hope our voice at AFL in Melbourne is strong enough. I would say the same for the two Sydney-based teams as well, that there is recognition of the fact that there has been a good 10-plus years of investment into the growth and it’s working exceedingly well both here and NSW.

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“I would like to think the AFL keeps backing the growth. I realise we have difficult times ahead of us, I realise we are going to have to cut our cloth, I realise some people are going to go through some pain, but I would caution everybody not to give up on the growth strategy of NSW and Queensland. It’s vitally important to stay the course.

“I would personally get rid of AFLX and international expansion and a heap of other things before I would get rid of the continuation of the funding for the two states.”

Do you think the mandatory two-year deals for draftees is long enough?

“I personally think (it needs to be) four years.... particularly if you are going to take them as an 18-year-old.

“They take those first two years to find their feet.

Gold Coast Suns AFL players Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell train on April 16, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. AFL players across the country are now training in isolation under strict policies in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

“They need a couple of years to settle in, particularly if they have moved states. They are still kids.

“That still leaves you at the age of 22 with a lot of football in front of you.

“If you are at the wrong place for you or the club at that stage then move on and maybe we make the moving-on part a lot easier at that point. Certainly two years is a joke.”

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Having experienced being involved in an expansion club, when do you think is the right time for the AFL to look at further expansion and where should it be?

“I won’t get into the debate about where but I will get into the debate about when. I have a strong attitude, even before the coronavirus situation which has now made my case stronger.

“I was very much on the record as saying I think the AFL as an industry is circa 15 to 20 years away from adding any more teams.

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“We need to beddown what we have got. We have 18 teams and it’s definitely working. Nine game weeks are important for the media and the rollout across Australia is clever. We have a game every week in South East Queensland, Adelaide, Western Australia and Sydney. That is a really solid basis to build your media rights and your following.

“I would not put any of that at risk by trying to expand and I think expansion is a long way away.”

How close is Stuart Dew to signing a contract extension with the club?

“Stuey’s contract is pretty much agreed. The whole upset of coronavirus put it on the backburner.

“There is no question that management, the board, Stuey’s manager, Stuey himself, we are all in complete agreement, there is no issue here.

Head Coach Stuart Dew looks on during a Gold Coast Suns AFL training session at on May 27, 2020 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“If it had of been a normal season it would have been signed and announced already I’m sure. “Stuey has been fabulous and he completely understands. There is no question in the next couple of months that will come forward and I see Stuey Dew as being a long term part of the Gold Coast Suns. He has my 110 per cent support and I can tell you he has that right around the board. We are talking about a couple of years extension to the current deal.”