Gary Buckenara says the AFL should be planning for a future without Gold Coast Suns
Gold Coast should be given 3-5 years to prosper or be sent to Tasmania, says recruiting expert Gary Buckenara. And he's not convinced more draft concessions are going to help the battling club.
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For years the AFL has been determined to persevere with Gold Coast but it’s time to make some tough decisions and plan for a future competition without the Suns.
I’d give the club another 3-5 years to get it right but if it’s still a basket case then enough is enough. Shut the club down and give Tasmania the team it deserves.
A team in Tasmania, a football-mad state, would surely create a far better AFL experience for talented players to develop and play out their careers than Gold Coast.
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What can the Suns do in that 3-5 years? There’s still time for chief executive Mark Evans, chairman Tony Cochrane and coach Stuart Dew to turn this club around, start winning games and challenge for finals.
But that’s not going to be achieved until the AFL, and the club itself, thinks outside the square.
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The Suns were handed a swag of draft picks on Monday which will help them add more young talent in the next three years.
They are almost certain to land Oakleigh Chargers star pair and best mates Matthew Rowell and Noah Anderson after being given the first two selections in this year's draft.
How long can the league continue to compromise the draft for this club?
The reality is, selecting another 18-year-old isn’t going to do much to help the Suns now and let’s be honest, that’s what they desperately need.
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My view is Gold Coast will never be a viable or successful club but if the AFL is determined to give it more time, then there must be a new strategy.
What has been tried in the past hasn’t worked. The cycle can’t continue. It’s time to try something new — be bold and draw a line in the sand.
The Luke Hodge example at Brisbane is an ideal model for Gold Coast. So instead of granting the Suns more priority to access young talent, which will likely leave after a few seasons, provide them with access to players at the other end of their careers.
Give the Suns the scope to sign up to five players aged 30+ outside the salary cap and under the banner of mentors and AFL ambassadors.
Adding the leadership, character and experience of players like Shaun Burgoyne, Kade Simpson, Eddie Betts, Jordan Lewis, Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack or Scott Selwood would transform the standards at that football club.
Brandon Ellis and Hugh Greenwood are set to join the club, but it desperately needs an injection of leadership and genuine experience.
The players would eligible to play for the Suns but their greatest impact would be to improve the AFL football experience for the young developing players.
I would also use Mick Malthouse and/or Mark Williams as part of this group — signing them outside the football department cap — their experience, standing and love for the game would be a wonderful asset for all areas of the club.
Their presence and input, alongside veteran players, would help create a culture of excellence.
While Gold Coast is one of Australia’s biggest growth areas, every sporting code to attempt to establish a team there has failed.
It might be good for the TV audience to have matches played in Queensland every week but this could still be achieved without the Suns through a combination of Brisbane home games and clubs under the financial banner of the AFL playing games there.
I would expect the same attendance figures at Metricon Stadium if clubs other than Gold Coast played home games at the venue, while it would still achieve the same TV outcome with a far smaller yearly bill for the AFL.
Not only is the financial element of having a team hugely funded by the AFL a drain on the game’s finances but to continue to be asked to change the rules around the draft — applying for priority picks, the introduction of academies and start-up concessions for the Suns and Giants — has disadvantaged clubs like St Kilda, Carlton and Fremantle, who have been stuck in the middle of the ladder as they haven’t had access to the best young talent.
All of this has diluted the draft, which aims to help the teams at the bottom, and the talent pool has been spread too thin.
The problems at Gold Coast were created by the initial set-up and the character of some of the players and staff recruited to the club, with the party/holiday culture well documented. That type of environment is toxic and has had a huge impact on the culture and consequently, the club’s ability to retain players.
The AFL cannot continue to throw money away by supporting a club that can’t change this cycle. There has to be a time frame.