Gold Coast Suns say mateship will help keep Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia

RISING Gold Coast stars Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia will reject big offers from Melbourne clubs to play with their mates, vice-captain Steven May believes.

Andrew Lake asks a question at the members forum last night. Picture: Regi Varghese

RISING Gold Coast stars Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia will reject big offers from Melbourne clubs to play with their mates, vice-captain Steven May believes.

May spoke passionately at a members forum on the Gold Coast on Tuesday night and directly addressed fans’ concerns the midfield duo would leave at the end of the year.

“You can’t question our mateship and the brotherhood we have at the club,” May said.

“The last contract I signed I had offers to go elsewhere and at the end of the day it came down to the fact I couldn’t leave my teammates.

“We all came here as 17, 18-year-olds and have gone through some tough times.

“The easy option would be to go to a Melbourne club that is playing finals.

“But if you have been here and gone through what we have gone through you see the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s going to be so much more rewarding.

“It’s part of reason why I recommitted last year. I think only reason why someone would leave is to go back home or for family. We are an incredibly tight bunch of guys here and that is ultimately what made me re-sign and why Tommy (Lynch) re-signed.”

Suns coach Rodney Eade said he remained confident that money alone wouldn’t sway the minds of a player weighing up his future and that cultural changes would help keep Prestia and O’Meara.

“I don’t think players are going to stay for money alone,” Eade said. “It’s going to be the environment and the on-field ­success.”

Eade said Josh Caddy (Geelong) and Tom Hickey (St Kilda) were part of a very small group that the club has failed to retain and that Melbourne clubs were only trying to destabilise the Suns.

“Jaeger and Dion haven’t gone yet and are not going as far as we are concerned,” Eade said.

Jaeger O’Meara is high on the radar of Victorian clubs.

More than 200 members grilled Suns chief executive Andrew Travis, Eade, football manager Marcus Ashcroft and high performance boss Justin Cordy at Metricon Stadium but it was May who stole the show.

Flanked by skipper Gary Ablett, vice-captain Tom Lynch and fellow leader Dion Prestia, May said the club’s improved culture had strengthened the team’s resolve and hoped it kept the likes of Prestia and Jaeger O’Meara at the club.

Top of the agenda last night were the injuries that have engulfed the club for the past 18 months, where contracts were at, list management and the style of football the Suns play.

Gold Coast players Steven May and Gary Ablett talks to a member. Picture: Regi Varghese

Ashcroft said despite the team winning just three of the first nine games he believed their best could match any in the AFL.

“I think our best 25 is as competitive as any other 25 at any club,” Ashcroft said.

“What we are seeing with the subsequent injuries and confidence is we don’t have the depth of resilience and leadership.

“Between now and the end of the year we will continue to have discussions about what we need and where to fill gaps in our playing list.

Coach Rodney Eade addresses members’ concerns flanked by CEO Andrew Travis (left), football manager Marcus Ashcroft and high performance manager Justin Cordy (right). Picture: Regi Varghese

“I certainly think we need more mature talent to top up our list to help our younger talent.”

Eade agreed and said the club needed to decide who could take the club forward from the current group and what type of player was needed to be brought in.

“Our depth has got to improve in a lot of areas,” Eade said. “We know the type of player in terms of position we would like to recruit and being competitive is No.1.”

Originally published as Gold Coast Suns say mateship will help keep Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia