Which Southport Sharks NEAFL coaches have joined Gold Coast QAFL clubs
Two of the most respected men in Gold Coast football have bolstered Gold Coast QAFL clubs but offering to join their coaching departments in the wake of the cancellation of the 2020 NEAFL season. SUBSCRIBE TO SEE EVERY ALLOCATION
Local Aussie Rules
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Aussie Rules. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THEY have coached and played in QAFL premierships and now two Southport Sharks mentors have bolstered the football departments of Gold Coast clubs hoping to do the same.
Sharks NEAFL head coach Stephen Daniel and assistant Matt Lappin have joined the coaching groups of Broadbeach and Labrador respectively in a huge boost to both clubs.
Daniel coached the Labrador team that broke a 21-year premiership drought by winning the QAFL flag in 2015, a side Lappin played in.
Fellow Sharks coach and former AFL player and coach Matthew Primus has also taken up a role with Southport’s juniors. All have agreed to work without payment.
MORE COAST FOOTY
Grieving father opens up about losing Southport son
Sharks pay tribute to late star
The former Gold Coast Suns coaches will deliver ample experience to teams already bolstered by the inclusion of former Sharks players in need of game time following the cancellation of the 2020 NEAFL season.
“The final piece for me was when ‘Skinny’ Lappin decided to come across from Southport,” Labrador senior president Nick McGuire said.
“Skinny played in our 2015 premiership, it was his first as a player, so when past players of Skinny’s calibre come back to the club it says a lot about our club and also about Skinny as a Labrador person.”
Daniel has taken on a director of coaching role and said he was excited to be back in football, despite being at a rival club to Labrador.
“Through a good initiative by Southport they reached out to the four Gold Coast QAFL clubs to see if they needed any help with coaching,” Daniel said.
“It has provided some great enjoyment and it’s great to give something back to the game.
“It’s different being at a new club and a whole new environment but it’s been good.”
EARLIER:
IT’S a shortened QAFL season but it could deliver some of the highest quality football seen in the competition in years with a host of NEAFL players signing with Gold Coast clubs.
Premiers Surfers Paradise (four players), Labrador (seven), Palm Beach Currumbin (six) and Broadbeach (12) are the major beneficiaries of the cancellation of the 2020 NEAFL season, picking up a host of high level talent from Southport Sharks in need of games.
Labrador senior president Nick McGuire detailed the incredible gesture of goodwill that enabled the club to secure various Sharks players who have agreed to play for free.
HOW CRICKETER’S DEATH HAS AFFECTED CLUB
“HORRIFIC ATTACKS”: SURFING ICON’S TERRIFYING SHARK ENCOUNTERS
“I’m so proud of our club and proud that each of these guys, plus all of our existing players, have bought into the goal we set ourselves for the year.
“When it looked likely that the season was going to go ahead we organised a planning meeting involving our committee, some coaches and players to discuss priorities for 2020.
“The outcome from this was that we wanted to be as competitive as possible in 2020 but the main priority was setting ourselves up to be financially sustainable for the years to come.
“We didn’t want to be spending money this year in this COVID-19 environment that was going to impact us going forward.
“So when we put it to the players and coaches that we basically want to run as an amateur club this year and they bought into it, as I said it made me extremely proud to be a Labrador person.
“At the time we were willing to accept that this may make it difficult to attract other players, especially from NEAFL level, to come to our club and we were willing to accept that.
“All our players are playing for nothing. From what I hear about the place about how much they are loving it, it certainly has re-energised me and a lot of people.”
SUNS OWN TEST: HOW DOCO CAN CHANGE PERCEPTION OF CLUB
THE SIGNINGS: WHERE HAVE THE SHARKS GONE?
LABRADOR
Tom Fields - Centre Half Back
Fraser Thurlow - Ruck
Jono Beech - Half Forward
Leigh Osborne - Half Back
Tom Miller - Half Back
Charlie Ford - Mid/forward
Blair Rubock - Small Forward
Lachie McDonald (Redland) - Wing
BROADBEACH CATS:
Kwabe Boakye - Def/Mid
Ryan Gilmore - Def/Mid
Dylan Lancaster - Fwd
Jack O’Shea - Fwd/Mid
Connor Nutting - Fwd
Harrison Arnold - Def
Ethan Reeves - Def
Jai Lyons - Mid
Jackson Fisher - Mid/Fwd
Clay Cameron (Redland) - Utility
Perry Stephen Mills (Redland) - Utility
Lewis-Smith (Redland- Def
SURFERS PARADISE:
Matt Doran - Midfield
Daniel Charlesworth - Key defender
Tyson Brazel - Key Forward
Brodie Foster (Redland) - Midfield.
PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN:
Brayden Crossley - Forward
Ashton Crossley - Mid
Jamison Shea - Mid
Mackenzie Willis - Def/mid
Jayden Brown - Forward/mid
Mitch Johnson — Small forward
Werribee v Southport VFL grand final: Paul Amy’s ultimate guide
The Bees and Sharks both have history on the line in the VFL grand final. PAUL AMY looks at the state of play for both clubs, names the key players and reveals who the experts are tipping.
How Southport survives, thrives, as the VFL’s interstate standalone
Southport has fought a lonely battle in the VFL with brilliant success. Ahead of the Sharks’ second grand final in three years, we uncover the business model that has fed the powerhouse.