Young Sun Ned Moyle turns back on Crows, Pies interest to re-sign on four-year deal

A Gold Coast youngster has turned his back on monster interstate offers from Adelaide, Collingwood and Melbourne to re-sign with Damien Hardwick’s Suns, reports JON RALPH.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 06: Ned Moyle during a Gold Coast Suns AFL training session at People First Stadium on June 06, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Gold Coast’s emerging ruckman Ned Moyle says Damien Hardwick’s arrival played a huge part in him signing a new four-year deal as he ignored interest from clubs including Collingwood, Melbourne and Adelaide.

The Herald Sun can reveal Moyle has knocked back rival offers to stay loyal despite co-captain Jarrod Witts signing a new two-year deal earlier in the season.

This masthead reported he was keen to stay last month despite that strong interest from rival clubs, with the 22-year-old keen to keep building with the emerging group of young stars.

He said on Monday he had told his manager Dylan Hodge he didn’t want to know who was chasing him, so intent was Moyle on re-signing after four games this year and six in total.

The mid-season draftee plays a rugged, aggressive style of game and believes it fits in well with the contest-based Gold Coast methodology.

“I really enjoy the club and love the people we have here and it’s a pleasure to come into the club every day. ‘Dimma’ is a great people person and what he’s done is give the group great belief in what we are capable of. We have a really talented group and if we can find that balance and bring it together we can win a lot of games.

Ned Moyle has turned his back on significant interstate interest to re-sign with the Suns. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

“I have always enjoyed the football club and the direction we are going but I think the last six months has been a big part of my decision.

“I kept in touch with Hodgey through the year but wanted to focus on my football and he did that behind the scenes. It came down to the point of having confidence that this is where I want to be and not having to worry about anything else. I am enjoying my footy and live on the Gold Coast and you don’t change a winning formula.”

While the Suns have a stunning collection of top ten talent, Victorian Moyle was the No. 5 selection in a 2021 mid-season draft that also includes Essendon’s Sam Durham and Hawthorn’s Jai Newcombe.

“I had my draft year wiped out because of Covid and I came back to the NAB League as an over-ager and played a couple of games with Collingwood in the VFL and then got exposed to Wittsy a lot at training. Coming up against a lot of different types of rucks in the state league I forged my way through.

“Playing in the VFL flag (last year) was a lot of fun and if anything it’s given me a taste of what it would be like to hopefully one day play in an (AFL) flag.

I have had good consistency through the year, playing games in the VFL at the start of the year and a block of AFL in the middle, and I got a lot of confidence from the games I played this year that I can see myself playing at that level for years to come.”