Suns academy graduates Connor Budarick and Matthew Conroy have signed with the club

Speaking about the AFL club list he’d only just joined, new Gold Coast Sun’s signing Connor Budarick used a set of pronouns which indicated to many that his tenure in the yellow and red wouldn’t be fleeting.

SPEAKING about the AFL club list he’d only just joined, new Gold Coast Sun’s signing Connor Budarick used a set of pronouns which indicated to many that his tenure in the yellow and red wouldn’t be fleeting.

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“He was one of our better key forwards,” Budarick said of Ben King’s recent commitment to the Suns.

“To have him re-sign was awesome and another stepping stone for us in the right direction.”

Gold Coast Suns academy graduate Connor Budarick has been signed by the Gold Coast Suns. Picture: Gold Coast Suns

To be fair, the 18-year-old is already entrenched in the Suns inner sanctum.

After training with the club during the 2019 pre-season, the small defender went on to captain the Suns academy side to a NAB league series victory, averaging 24.4 disposals and nine tackles across his five games, earning him the Hunter Harrison medal as the competitions best and fairest player.

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With the Suns able to pre-sign academy talent ahead of the draft as part of their AFL assistance package, depriving opposition clubs the chance to bid on the NEAFL rising star, Budarick found out about his Suns call up a few weeks ago and has had to conceal the news since.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 01: Connor Budarick of the Gold Coast Suns Academy poses for a photo at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 01, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos)

“I hate keeping secrets,” he said.

“It’s a little bit of weight off the shoulders.

“As soon as I started playing I’ve always had that mentality that I want to get to the top level.

“I got my guernsey sized up and it’s all starting to get a bit real now.”

The under-18 All-Australian said that after achieving his lifelong dream, he would insist on making an impact at the club who took a chance on him.

Connor Budarick in action for the Gold Coast Suns NEAFL side this year. Photo by Richard Gosling

“I want to have a really good pre-season and make sure I’m proud of how I’ve performed,” he said.

“The goal is to play round one but that’s far away at the moment but hopefully I can do everything right in the lead up to then.

“If it did happen, I’d be very driven and motivated to keep my spot.

“I’d want to do the best I could but also make an impact on the game, not just be an extra number.”

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Joining Budarick at the Suns next year is fellow Gold Coast talent academy graduate Matthew Conroy who originates from North Queensland.

Matthew Conroy of Broadbeach and Jonathan Croad of Palm Beach Currumbin compete for the ball during the QAFL Grand Final between Palm Beach and Broadbeach at Leyshon Park on September 22, 2018 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Media/Getty Images)

“The club has helped me develop both personally and professionally over the last couple of years having helped me make the move down from Townsville” Conroy said.

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“I’m looking forward to working closely with the development coaches to improve my game and hopefully make all the people that have invested their time in me, proud.”