The Footy Boss: An in-depth look at all things Gold Coast Suns
Gold Coast’s premiership window has never been more open after a bumper trade period. But Jamarra Ugle-Hagan looms as the biggest question hovering over Damien Hardwick’s side.
Gold Coast had a big trade period and the window of opportunity for this team has opened further.
They will definitely feel like they have strengthened their best 23, in particular with the addition of Christian Petracca.
With more gun academy prospects likely to come in the draft the club is in a great position to have a long run at contention.
Especially now the Suns are now a destination for mature players.
A NEW DESTINATION CLUB
In terms of recruiting, I feel the hub life during Covid really helped the Queensland market. As much as Covid was a challenge, from my experience players really enjoyed their time there.
The interest in Queensland would have been helped through that period and the lifestyle there.
A lot of big name players, although they get great attention in Melbourne, also enjoy the anonymity in Queensland.
Christian Petracca has a big social media profile but it would be a good place to go enjoy your footy and live a low-key life outside of the club.
Players do move to get to the big Melbourne clubs and play in front of huge supporter bases and they are excited to do that and play in front of 100,000 fans.
But at the same time, some of these mature players that have had that experience already also reach the stage where it can be attractive to move to a non-traditional club.
We have seen that this off-season with Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Charlie Curnow.
The difference with Gold Coast is they have a really strong academy, they have had a big last few years of first-round picks coming from there.
They have had some ready-made players come in this year with Petracca and hopefully Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, and they got Daniel Rioli and John Noble last year, so they have had a pretty busy period with some imports and academy players.
Some clubs have publicly voiced that they don’t like the Suns being able to bring in so much young talent from their academy.
Gold Coast are starting to get pretty powerful but I do think the fact locals are developing in Queensland is what we have always wanted as a code.
It is not that long ago now that Gold Coast struggled to get any players in the door and had to pay overs for them.
Now it is an attractive proposition for a player like Petracca, I think it is enormous for the code and it is good that they are growing their own.
As part of the trade, the Suns got Petracca and some second rounders and a future second rounder, which helps with draft points.
The Suns would have been working through recruiting Jamarra for a couple of months by investigating what he has been going through, if the club is the right fit and how they can support him.
That’s where a player’s manager becomes really important and Robbie D’Orazio was involved in those talks.
In the longer term, he will have a pretty balanced contract that gives Jamarra the chance to get back to the earnings he potentially had but he has ended up signing a contract that was a one-year with a trigger.
In United States sport, they call deals like this “prove-it contracts”.
Basically, it is a contract where the player has to come in and everyone knows their capacity and ceiling is a lot higher than what they are currently displaying but it is a short-term option to show you can get back to the level you were at.
Gold Coast has talked about putting structure around him from a performance perspective.
The big thing for Jamarra now is that players if they have been out of the system the big risk if they suffer any mishaps in the pre-season with their body because they have been out of full-time training.
It will be important for him to get into a really big pre pre-season, so that when the actual pre-season ramps up, his body can handle the rigours.
Normally players that have big and durable pre-seasons end up having strong home-and-away seasons.
Everyone acknowledges they are giving him a second chance and it is up to Jamarra to commit to that.
The club will wrap huge support around him.
They will often make sure the living arrangements are right and Jamarra will live with Gold Coast’s Indigenous programs co-ordinator Jarrod Harbrow.
That just shows the dedication of club staff when they are prepared to make a lifestyle decision for their own situation and family to support a club member.
Staff members in roles like Harbrow’s or player development managers are enormous for clubs and they do so much work that is hidden behind the scenes.
I saw Lil O’Sullivan, who heads up Carlton’s player development, put in so much time on the weekend and after hours.
Those in these roles are very special people and are always working away in the background.
They develop really close relationships with players and staff and get their rewards from making a difference.
Bailey Humphrey was a player mentioned heavily and it will be a test of his character following the trade period.
Craig Cameron, who was list manager and is now moving into the role of football GM, acknowledged you have to be pretty strong during the trade period with players because they may look at some wriggle room to try and get out.
You have to be strong at that time but now the trade period has passed, it is all about addressing any issues and helping someone like Bailey to work through any concerns he has been dealing with.
In the moment of the trade period, you have to snuff out these requests if they are never going to happen.
It was a hectic day before the trade period even started for Humphrey, when he was spotted meeting with an opposition club.
When a player from your team is seen meeting with another club, you have to jump on the phone.
Players do have meetings with other clubs and you are aware of that.
You are better off to address it and get to the bottom of the situation and be clear on the club’s position.
It can be good to clear the air for both parties and get some clarity.
As a football GM you will be asked all through the club and even up to board level what is going on.
You want to be across what has happened really.
LIST OVERVIEW
List changes – In:Christian Petracca (Melbourne), Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs)
Out:Sam Flanders (St Kilda), Connor Budarick (Western Bulldogs), Brayden Fiorini (Essendon), Malcolm Rosas Jr (Sydney), Ben Ainsworth (Carlton), Sean Lemmens, David Swallow (retired), Alex Sexton, Lloyd Johnston, Tom Berry (delisted)
List gaps
Adding Petracca gives great flexibility to Gold Coast’s midfield.
He is a rare player because he is not just a big body but he is a big body with power.
Gold Coast acknowledged there was a bit of a gap in that area when they played finals.
He can be a stoppage player but gives great flexibility going forward and is someone that as an opposition team you really need to watch.
That range of roles he can play is pretty special and on his day he is a match winner and a Norm Smith medallist.
Watching his training vision on social media he looks really sharp already and he is a pro the way he goes about it, he will really add to the Suns.
List strengths
Gold Coast looks very healthy for talls now, particularly up forward.
Ethan Read is rated highly and Jed Walter is developing well.
Ben King booted 71 goals last year and Ugle-Hagan is added into the mix as well.
The Suns also have Mac Andrew, Sam Collins and the returning Charlie Ballard in defence.
It is an impressive mix.
Draft hand – 15, 18, 24, 28, 29, 36, 52
The Suns have two potential top-five draftees out of their academy in Zeke Uwland and Dylan Patterson, and also have the likes of Jai Murray, Beau Addinsall and Koby Coulson as well, who could all go in the top 40.
The academy keeps churning out players, it feels like it is one after another.
Kall Burns, their national recruiting manager, has a good background in recruiting and the data and analytics side of drafting.
They are having to really watch pick swaps closely to make sure they have enough draft points on the night to be able to pay for these academy players.
They are in a unique market because they are constantly searching for more points so they can pay for these academy players.
Gold Coast has traded top-10 picks in each of the last four years, which has in the past been done with the draft in mind to set up for academy prospects.
Their value or currency on an early pick is different to a rebuilding club in Victoria, who may put a much higher currency on relinquishing that pick.
It probably helps the system, it means there are a few more picks around and it is up to the Melbourne clubs to try and secure them.
There is an element that you err on the side of taking the locals and being tied to academy players can mean you actually cost yourself in the back-end of the draft.
There is going to be some bias there to your homegrown talent but I think it helps them in the end.
Investing in the local market fuels the academy and the players in the rest of the programs to keep striving.
Salary cap
For Gold Coast to get Petracca they needed their cap to be in order because Melbourne is still paying a chunk of Clayton Oliver’s salary while he played for GWS.
The Demons wouldn’t want to be doing that with numerous players so it was important that the Suns had the room.
The Suns have traded out four experienced players, which would have freed up some space.
Sam Flanders and Ben Ainsworth going out would have no doubt given them room to get Petracca in, and Ugle-Hagan has come in on a lower level.
They have had some others go out who would have been potentially on more than a base salary.
Given Gold Coast’s ability to bring in talented young players, they can potentially replace players like Brayden Fiorini, Connor Budarick and Malcolm Rosas Jr with youngsters on set draftee salaries, while giving those older players a chance at another club.
HIGH PERFORMANCE CHECK-IN
Gold Coast has built a strong advantage at its second home ground in Darwin, having won all eight of its games there across the last four seasons.
Hosting games in conditions we don’t see often in the southern states is a different environment, with different touch and feel on the ball.
You have to acclimatising to it quickly.
The humidity and temperature is challenging and it’s also extra travel for clubs to get there.
The compound effect of self-belief they have in going in there helps as well.
THE COACH’S BOX
Damien Hardwick came into the Suns at a really good time as some players started to mature.
Gold Coast has star senior players in Noah Anderson, Matt Rowell and Touk Miller.
These midfielders are starting to come into their prime and are really coachable.
Hardwick also has plenty of high-end talent coming through that he can teach his style to.
They are in a rare position where their side is both developing and strong and they have been able to manage their cap, so they are able to bring in one of the biggest name trades while also getting two top-five picks in the door.
Normally you are sacrificing one for the other.
They were very well positioned to do everything in this period by using their own first-round pick and they did very well out of the Sam Flanders trade, to help get Petracca in.
They have a pretty good hybrid model because you are normally doing one thing or the other.
FRONT OFFICE
Craig Cameron is a very seasoned football person and he is now the club’s football GM, with Wayne Campbell moving to join the Swans.
He has a lot of experience having worked at Richmond, GWS, Melbourne and Fremantle in recruiting, list management and football management.
He has been a football manager previously and came back into list management in recent times at the Suns so is very trusted and a safe pair of hands.
From all reports Kall Burns is expected to move from recruiting manager to list manager. He is someone who has been well regarded and the longest serving staff member at the club.
He is very competent at what he does and it is a good succession plan move for him if it is all ticked off.
Originally published as The Footy Boss: An in-depth look at all things Gold Coast Suns
Suns ignite trade period as Crow defects, Tigers win No.1 pick race
