Gary Buckenara analyses Gold Coast’s list after the 2018 AFL season

IF Steven May doesn’t want to be at Gold Coast next season the club should move him on now and any other player who doesn’t want to be there, writes GARY BUCKENARA.

Gary Buckenara's Gold Coast list analysis.

ANOTHER year, another bottom-four finish for Gold Coast as a star player departs the club and rumours surrounding others swirl.

Year after year it’s the same old story for the Suns and you’ve got to ask: When will it change? When will this club finally get its act together?

Right now, Gold Coast is a basket case.

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The current players, coaches and administrators are unfortunately paying for the poor initial set up, list management, recruiting and the culture that was allowed to develop within the playing group.

Chief executive Mark Evans was employed to turn this club around and we all thought he’d be the man to help set up a club environment and culture that players want to be part of and would translate into good on-field performances.

But that hasn’t happened … yet.

This year was more of the same for the Suns. Co-Captain Tom Lynch has left via free agency, while fellow captain Steven May was traded. That was the right move.

Tom Lynch has left the Suns. Picture: Getty Images

If a player doesn’t want to be at your club the best decision you can make to move forward is to trade them while you cannot only to get a deal in return but also remove that negativity from the playing group.

There are enough problems at Gold Coast already without holding a player to their contract when they no longer want to be part of the organisation, just because you might be able to get a better draft pick via free agency compensation next year.

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May’s trade value would be a first-round pick and a player who could step in and be part of the Suns’ best 22 but can’t get a regular spot in their current team’s best side.

The Suns have clearly made a point of moving on any player who doesn’t want to be there and start to rebuild the culture driven by players who are committed to being part of the future.

Having players at your club who don’t want to be there only breeds more players who are looking for the exit.

On paper it looks like a disastrous trade period for the Suns but I don’t see it that way given the high-end picks the club has been able to secure in a really strong draft. Yes, their co-captains in Lynch and May have left but to get pick Nos.3 and 6 for them is great value. The challenge now is to nail the selections and retain players who should be stars for the future.

The Suns traded Steven May.

Recruits Anthony Miles, Corey Ellis, George Horlin-Smith, Sam Collins and Jack Hombsch will all walk straight into the best 22 and will no doubt be committed to work as hard as they can to make AFL careers for themselves given they are on their second chance and in the case of Hombsch, his third opportunity. That can only mean good things for the Suns.

A new coach, list manager, recruiting manager and a well-credentialed CEO — these four people are the ones that will be critical to the future of the Gold Coast Suns.

There are big decisions to be made as, with the current set up, I hold grave fears about whether this club can survive.

Surely the AFL has a time frame and a limit on how much money is poured into this club?

Yes, the Suns had the youngest list in the AFL in 2018 but this is because the football environment and club hasn’t been capable of holding on to its good young players.

Gold Coast heavily invested in the 2016 national draft when it held four top-10 selections, taking Ben Ainsworth, Will Brodie, Jack Scrimshaw (who has requested a trade) and Jack Bowes, and had two top 20 picks in 2015 when it selected Callum Ah Chee and Brayden Fiorini.

Can the Suns develop these guys into good AFL players and can they develop them into 10-plus year players for the club?

The answer has to be “yes” if Gold Coast will ever push up into finals calculations, let alone premiership contention.

GOLD COAST’S LIST NEEDS

Where do I begin? What the Suns need comes down to five key areas:

— Precise and excellent trading and drafting: Craig Cameron and Neville Stibbard need to absolutely nail this area.

— The Suns must show signs of improvement on and off the field to create a real football environment that will result in the younger players developing their game and thus viewing the club as their long-term football home.

— Stick with coach Stuart Dew and support him with the best people available to create, develop and nurture a new culture.

— I could say bring in an experienced key forward, key defender, class midfielder and powerful strong ruckman but that will be far easier said than done as the Suns simply are not a club that these types of players view as a place they want to play their footy. This is where the three aforementioned elements come into play for the future.

— Complete a cleanout of the playing list as there are too many list cloggers at the back end of the list who only play at NEAFL level.

The Suns need Pearce Hanley to lift. Picture: AAP

PLAYERS WHO NEED TO STEP UP IN 2019

Pearce Hanley has been one of the few high-profile recruits the Suns have been able to entice but since his arrival at the end of 2016 he’s been disappointing.

The Irishman has had bad luck with injuries but even when he’s been able to play, he hasn’t produced the damaging footy that made him one of the game’s most exciting halfback/midfielders during his time at Brisbane with his run and carry a serious weapon.

He must to get his body right and start to give the Suns some return on their investment.

Where has Tom Nicholls gone? Since his breakout season in 2016 the ruckman has failed to play a senior game after being overtaken by former Magpie Jarrod Witts as the No.1 ruckman and then battling injury.

The Suns have re-signed him for one more season, so the big man needs to get his body right and set his mind on taking the No.1 ruck mantle off Witts.

Sam Day is another top draft pick who has had no luck with injuries but following the departure of Lynch and the potential departure of May, Day has become a critical player for the Suns.

He can play forward or back so his versatility gives Dew options, providing he’s injury-free, fit and ready to play.

CRYSTAL BALL

Unfortunately there’s more pain ahead for the Suns in 2019. With the departure of Lynch and possible departure of May, the Suns should use this as an opportunity to develop a younger leadership group that includes the likes of David Swallow, Touk Miller, Lachie Weller and Ainsworth.

I can’t see this club featuring in the finals any time soon but things can change very quickly in football, as Collingwood and North Melbourne showed this year.

But the Suns have more work ahead of them than both those clubs did. I can’t see the Suns playing finals until at least 3-5 years and that’s if they do everything right from recruiting to list management to player retention and development.