Gary Buckenara analyses Gold Coast’s list after the 2019 season
Gold Coast is stuck in a doom loop that can only be broken by hanging on to the talented players on its list. But the club did the right thing by refusing to trade Jack Martin, writes list expert Gary Buckenara.
Gary Buckenara
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Where do I start?
Gold Coast is a basket case and I firmly remain of the opinion that the AFL should shut the club down and give Tasmania a license, which I wrote about last month.
It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen in the near future after the league granted the Suns more draft concessions and further compromised the drafts for a club that continues to be a drain on the competition. When is it going to stop?
Player retention remains the biggest issue. The Suns actually have a lot of talented players coming through who can form the nucleus of a finals team and premiership contender in the future but it all depends on whether they view the club as their long-term football home. I’m talking about Ben King, who has just re-signed in a huge coup, Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine, Brayden Fiorini, Ben Ainsworth, Wil Powell, Will Brodie and Jez McLennan — eight players I believe have the talent to develop into A or B-grade players. I also like Jack Bowes, and Charlie Ballard showed very good signs this year.
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Add in the players they’ll draft with picks 1 and 2 — likely Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson — and that will take the list to 10, plus whoever they select at picks 15 and 20 if they also take those selections to the draft.
Brandon Ellis will be a handy pick-up and add finals experience to a club that doesn’t have any — hopefully he can help to drive the standards rather than picking up some superannuation.
But I still think the Suns desperately need more experienced players who are well-respected and have had long careers in footy to go up there and set the example. Missing out on Shaun Burgoyne, who opted to re-sign with Hawthorn, was a huge blow. He would have been ideal.
The Suns have taken a step forward this year to a degree given only Jack Martin and Callum Ah Chee wanted to leave. They’re not exactly in the same realm as Tom Lynch and Steven May but I guess the argument is they no longer have players of the ilk of Lynch and May in terms of being established stars.
It was good to see the Suns make a stand with Jack Martin, refusing to trade him to the Blues for a deal they deemed unsatisfactory. It will make players think twice about leaving the club in the future because all of a sudden you're not guaranteed to get to where you want to go — it’s not as easy to leave as it has been in the past. It looks like he’ll head to the draft or pre-season draft, where the Suns will hold the first pick and while it has been reported the Suns would consider redrafting him, I wouldn’t bother — he’s disgruntled and has a history of not working hard enough. Just move on and take a player who is desperate for an opportunity.
Martin is a talented player but he doesn’t work hard enough and has not translated that talent into consistent form at AFL level. To me, he was only worth Carlton’s pick 43 anyway.
The Suns reportedly approached Brad Crouch and they should try again next year when he is out of contract. Brad wants a long-term deal from the Crows but they have been hesitant to give out long-term contracts as we've seen with Hugh Greenwood and Alex Keath. Crouch - and his brother Matt - would add a level of professionalism and hardness that this team just doesn’t have. I’d be throwing everything at trying to lure them both on long-term deals so there is some security there in that these guys see their footy futures on the Gold Coast.
LIST NEEDS
The Suns drafted two key position players for the future in King and Lukosius last year, while Rory Thompson is a good defender who’ll return from a knee reconstruction next year, Sam Day, Peter Wright, Jack Hombsch, Sam Collins, Chris Burgess and Josh Corbett can all play key position roles, so they look OK for talls for now. They desperately need quick and classy ball users through the midfield — and lots of them. At the moment the Suns have plugged holes with good honest players like Ellis, George Horlin-Smith and Anthony Miles but they’re not superstar midfielders you build your club around and who can break games open.
The retirement of Tom Nicholls and the provisional drug suspension of Brayden Crossley means the Suns have no depth behind co-captain Jarrod Witts in the ruck. Peter Wright is more a forward-ruckman, which is why they secured Zac Smith from Geelong in a trade for pick 58. He has been inconsistent at AFL level so the Suns should still draft a developing ruckman in either the national or rookie drafts.
LIST BREAKDOWN
A: Nil
B+: Nil
B: Pearce Hanley, Jack Martin, Touk Miller, Rory Thompson
B-: Jarrod Witts
C+: Jarrod Harbrow, Alex Sexton, Sam Day, David Swallow, Peter Wright, Sam Collins, Hugh Greenwood, Brandon Ellis
C: Callum Ah Chee, Lachie Weller, Aaron Young, Sean Lemmens, Harrison Wigg, Anthony Miles, Corey Ellis, Josh Corbett, Jack Hombsch, Chris Burgess, Jordan Murdoch, George Horlin-Smith
C-: Nick Holman
Developing*: Ben King, Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine, Brayden Fiorini, Ben Ainsworth, Wil Powell, Will Brodie, Jez McLennan
Developing: Jack Bowes, Charlie Ballard, Brayden Crossley, Josh Schoenfeld, Jesse Joyce, Jacob Heron, Darcy MacPherson, Caleb Graham, Mitch Riordan, Sam Fletcher
Please note: Developing* refers to players aged 21 or under with the potential to become A or B-grade players in the future.
DRAFT STRATEGY
This draft is strong for classy and quick midfielders and that plays right into Gold Coast’s hands because the Suns need several of this type of player. I expect each of their top-20 picks (currently hold four — 1, 2, 15 and 20) to be midfielders with speed and who make good decisions with the ball. They could look at specific needs with later picks, like a ruckman, but if there is a player there at No.58 they thought wouldn’t be, then they’ve got to take him even if they have similar players on their list. There are also some nice small forwards in this draft, which the Suns could look at as they don’t really have a true crumbing small forward who applies manic pressure.
CRYSTAL BALL
There’s more pain ahead for Gold Coast in 2020. It will be another development year as the club gets games into the young guns they’ve drafted over the last year or two — Lukosius, King, Rankine and McLennan in particular — so these guys develop and want to stay. I can’t see the Suns challenging for the finals for many years, if the club can even survive that long.
The Suns and the AFL, need to ask four key questions:
— Do we have the best people in place to support Stuart Dew?
— Do we have the best people in administration?
— Do we have the best recruiters and the best list manager with a history of best practice success? By that I mean people who have been part of a successful rebuild before, not just guys who have worked in the industry for a long time.
— Do we have the best football support staff?
The answer to every question must be yes or I can’t see Gold Coast enjoying any on-field success. The cycle of drafting young guns and then losing them 2-4 years later will continue.