Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew vows the best is yet to come after new two-year deal
Chasing a host of ‘firsts’ is among coach Stuart Dew’s wish list after recommitting to Gold Coast as speculation about his future has been put to bed.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Newly re-appointed Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has vowed “the best is yet to come” for the Suns after being rewarded with a new two-year deal, ending speculation about his future at the club.
The Herald Sun exclusively revealed late on Tuesday night that the Suns had reaffirmed their commitment to Dew until the end of the 2024 season.
Gold Coast made the announcement on Wednesday, confident that Dew had done enough to warrant the new contract.
Dew had entered the season under significant pressure and had to deal with the spectre of his former coach Alastair Clarkson potentially being a replacement alternative.
Watch every blockbuster AFL match this weekend Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
But despite a season-ending injury to the club’s most exciting player Ben King, and three separate knee reconstructions during the course of the season, Dew still has the Suns sitting at 7-8 on the ladder, despite harrowing back-to-back losses to Port Adelaide and Collingwood.
Dew said on Wednesday his reappointment was a show of faith and he stressed there was so much more work to be done to take the club where it needs to go.
“It’s our goal to chase down ‘firsts’ for this football club. A first AFL finals campaign, winning our first AFL final and of course chasing our first Premiership,” Dew said.
“The job is not done, and the best is yet to come.”
He said he was “immensely proud” to coach the Suns and had been assisted by “some fantastic people around me.”
“We’ve laid some exciting foundations to build on in the coming years,” Dew added.
“We have had an unprecedented level of commitment, support and dedication from everyone involved to create a connection to a journey that people believed in. I love this club and the game, and it gives me all the love back.
“We want to be a club that our members and supporters can be proud of. The support we have received from our community has been nothing short of incredible and will always be valued by myself and the playing group.”
Under Dew’s stewardship, the Suns have assembled a tight-knit group of elite talent that has committed to the future with recent signings including Touk Miller, Ben King and Jack Lukosius.
Gold Coast has also put in place a strong team around Dew including football boss Wayne Campbell, list boss Craig Cameron, new development head Rhyce Shaw and elite assistant coaches Steven King and Brad Miller.
Dew’s re-appointment comes as the Suns are in line for their highest-ever finish this season.
Gold Coast has never finished a season higher than 12th in the 11-completed seasons, with the ever-improving Suns currently in 11th place.
The 42-year-old is already Gold Coast’s longest-serving coach and will coach his 100th AFL game in Round 18.
Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane said Dew had responded to the expectations and challenges set by the board and by CEO Mark Evans during the preseason.
“We’ve had real clarity from the start of this season on what our expectations were as a football club and our belief in our Senior Coach Stuart Dew,” Cochrane said.
“Stuey has worked tirelessly alongside a number of others to create an environment that sets our players, and this football club, up for success both on and off the field and we look forward to him taking us forward on that journey, as we continue to build a strong culture and a winning environment.”
Suns make call on Stuart Dew’s coaching future
Gold Coast has committed to re-signing Stuart Dew with the Suns coach set to ink a two-year deal to be announced as early as Wednesday.
The Herald Sun can exclusively reveal the Suns have brought forward the negotiations for Dew, who entered the season under massive pressure given the spectre of four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson potentially replacing him at the expansion club.
But after a brilliant coaching performance under extreme hardship this season, the Suns believe Dew is their man for the foreseeable future.
It is a watershed moment for the Suns who finally look set for a strong period of on-field success after a series of false dawns and the sackings of inaugural coach Guy McKenna and his replacement Rodney Eade.
Under Dew’s stewardship, the Suns have assembled a tight-knit group of elite talent that has committed to the future with recent signings including Touk Miller, Ben King and Jack Lukosius.
Gold Coast has also put in place a strong team around Dew including football boss Wayne Campbell, list boss Craig Cameron, new development head Rhyce Shaw and elite assistant coaches Steven King and Brad Miller.
Despite losing their best player Ben King on the eve of the season, as well as three other ACL victims, the Suns are still in the finals race at 7-8 despite harrowing recent losses to Port Adelaide and Collingwood.
Dew’s reappointment comes as the Suns are in line for their highest-ever finish this season.
Gold Coast has never finished a season higher than 12th in the 11-completed seasons, with the ever-improving Suns currently in 11th place.
Clarkson had been linked by some experts to the Gold Coast role earlier this season, but Dew’s position solidified off the back of his connection to the playing group, the brand of football they have been playing and the backing and support of the Gold Coast board and administration including chairman Tony Cochrane and CEO Mark Evans.
Cochrane told the Herald Sun recently that Dew’s absolute investment in the list of players and improving game plan had put him in good stead to continue with the club.
“What Mark (Evans) and I said at the start of the year very publicly, and Stu has 100 per cent support on this, he understands it, he sat with the board and discussed this,’’ Cochrane told the Herald Sun’s Sacked podcast recently.
“We said to Stu, ‘Don‘t worry about the contract. Let’s have a year where all you do and your only focus is the progression of our group’.
So we’ve given Stuey a clear set of instructions about just get on, let’s get progression into the young group, let’s observe that in the back half of the year, and, and we’ll make a decision from there.”
Dew is into his fifth season as coach of the Suns and needs one more win to pass his best tally of victories in a season. The Suns take on Richmond at Metricon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The elephant Port must still get out of the room
Port Adelaide planning to confirm its succession plan from Ken Hinkley to Josh Carr before round 1 is odd timing. This could and should have been done by now, as MATT TURNER writes.
Top 25: Who took the mark of the century?
There’s nothing like a high-flying grab in Australian rules. But who flew highest this century? Josh Barnes picks the greatest 25 marks of the last 25 years. HAVE YOUR SAY.