Gold Coast deliver first bit of silverware as forward confirmed to stay on
The Suns have returned to the Gold Coast after creating club history bringing back with them their first premiership.
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The Suns have returned to the Gold Coast after creating club history bringing back with them their first premiership.
The new VFL premiers defeated the Werribee Tigers 17.10 (112) to 14.9 (93) on Sunday afternoon to claim the title.
Suns forward Sam Day said it was an incredible feeling delivering the first silverware at the club.
“You hope when you start out that you want success and sometimes it takes a little bit longer than you would like,” Day said.
“But a fantastic day for the club on Sunday, for the players, the club and the supporters as well.
“My family have ridden the highs and plenty of lows with me, so to have them there supporting me was pretty special.
“It isn’t something I can really put into words, actually get quite emotional but just super pumped to win it for them.
“The way the club handled the stuff after the game, getting everyone together, the families together was amazing, just really good for all those involved.
“It was a fantastic evening and will have a few more like that this week.”
Day kicked 2.4 from 13 disposals which included seven marks in the 19 point win over the Tigers.
Drafted to the Suns in the 2010 national draft, Day has played 143 games of senior AFL across the 13 years at the club.
The 31-year-old’s future was up in the air after the grand final win.
“I can say it now that I have had a healthy year and not going into an off season with an injury,” Day said.
“I still have plenty more to give, I absolutely love it.”
Gold Coast forward Chris Burgess kicked the opening goal of the grand final as the sides continued to go goal for goal for the first half.
Tigers forward and Norm Ross medallist Shaun Mannagh kicked six goals for the game, with four of them coming in the first half to keep Werribee in the game.
The Suns dominated the third quarter with an onslaught barrage kicking four goals in 10 minutes to extend the lead to a game high 38 points.
The Tigers challenged the Suns late in the third and early in the forth but Gold Coast continued to maintain a 15 point barrier to claim their first premiership.
“I thought Werribee were fantasic, they took it to us for the whole game and never stopped and never gave up and made us earn every second of it,” Day said.
“It was a great grand final and the boys definitely got some satisfaction out of it.
“We have had some blow outs over the years but they were the team to beat, so it was a fantasic game.”
Young gun Elijah Hollands had one of his best games, wrapping up a game high 33 disposals
The Suns flew home on Monday afternoon to a strong crowd at the Gold Coast airport.
The only downside for the 2023 premiers was defender Jake Stein went down early with a knee injury after a heavy contest and didn’t return to the field.
Stein walked through the airport on crutches and his knee in a brace and will look to have scans to find out the extent of the injury.
Suns deliver the club’s first ever bit of silverware after dominating VFL grand final
Gold Coast has become a bigger party town than ever before after the Suns created history at Ikon Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Suns defeated Werribee Tigers 112-93 to claim the clubs first ever premiership in Sunday’s VFL grand final.
Gold Coast were chasing their first premiership in the 14 years in the competition while Werribee were chasing their first flag in 30 years.
Midfielder Elijah Hollands had a career best game with 30 disposals and 10 tackles to help deliver the Suns their first bit of silverware.
Suns’ Mabior Chol (4), Chris Burgess (3) and Ben McLaughlin (3) and were too hot to handle up forward for the Tigers defence.
On a beautiful sunny day in Melbourne, Burgess kicked the opening goal of the grand final thanks to a brilliant passage of play through a chain of handballs which turned defence into offence.
Burgess set up Chol just minutes later to extend the Suns lead to 11 points, before Tigers’ Shaun Mannagh kicked two in two minutes to give Werribee the lead half way through the opening quarter.
In a fierce contest, the Tigers attack and pressure on the ball carrier created plenty of mistakes by the Suns.
Suns defender Jake Stein went down with a knee injury after a heavy contest and was not sighted for the remainder of the game.
Gold Coast held a seven-point lead at the first break before the Tigers dominated the first 20 minutes of the second quarter reclaiming the lead.
But it was the Suns who kicked the next four goals in six minutes to lead at the main break by 10 points.
Tigers forward Shaun Mannagh had a game high four goals in the first half.
Suns gun Elijah Hollands had team high 15 disposals heading into half and forward Chris Burgess kicked three first half goals.
The Suns stepped on the gas after half time, extending their lead to a game high 36-points.
The Tigers answered back with two late goals to close the gap to 27 points at the final break.
Giving up the first two goals of the final term, the Suns settled and extended the lead by 31 points midway through the fourth quarter.
Challenged again on the back end of the quarter, it was Chol who kicked his fourth and the sealer for the Suns to claim their first premiership in the clubs history.
Tigers forward Shaun Mannagh won the Norm Goss medal for best on ground after kicking six goals and picking up 27 disposals.
From fan to star: Suns gun chasing VFL premiership
They say getting picked to play for the team you supported as a junior is one of the greatest things about following AFL.
For Bodhi Uwland, he is living out his boyhood dream, playing for the Gold Coast Suns, with a chance to bring home his clubs first piece of silverware.
The 20-year-old will line up in the VFL grand final for the Suns when they take on Werribee on Sunday at Ikon Park.
Uwland said he cannot wait to run out for the club he loved supporting from a young age in Sunday’s grand final.
“Originally was a Lions fan but once the Suns came in, I think I was about seven, we got a membership and I have been to about 90 per cent of home games since then,” Uwland said.
“It is a great opportunity to potentially bringing in the first trophy back to the Club.
“We have many leaders across the VFL team who have played at that high level.
“And a lot of young players draw a lot off of them and that will excel our game.”
Uwland’s parents moved up to the Gold Coast just before he was born and found himself always destined to play footy.
He played all his junior footy at the Burleigh Bombers before getting into the Suns Academy at age 12.
Drafted in the 2022 rookie draft at age 18 the Suns Academy, Uwland spent his first season in a back brack while recovering from a stress fracture that occurred in September 2021.
The injury required him to wear the brace for 23 hours a day at times during this recovery.
A year later, he made his AFL debut for the Suns at 19-years-old against the Sydney Swans in round one at Heritage Bank Stadium.
The Gold Coast born midfielder has been a consistent player across the 2023 for the Suns VFL side.
“I hope to be in the same position for the AFL side within five years, playing in a grand final for the Suns,” Uwland said.
“I just want to keep playing consistent footy and being able to break into the AFL side.
“Footy is a main focus of mine, but I am studying to become a chiropractor as well.
“That keeps me pretty busy away from the footy club but not much goes on really.”
Uwland is another promising young player coming through the ranks at the Suns who will be looking to taste the ultimate success in the VFL.
The Suns last played Werribee in round nine, with the Tigers running over the Suns to win by two points.
The Tigers were down by seven goals at the half time break before a 10 goal to two second half led them to victory which included a goal from Hudson Garoni in the dying seconds of the game.
The VFL grand final will be live streamed and shown on the big screen at 3:10pm at Heritage Bank Stadium as a free event before the Suns AFLW team play at the ground against the Western Bulldogs at 5:10pm.
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