Proof the Gold Coast is the ‘death zone’ for Australian sporting teams, hopes and dreams

Stuart Dew’s sacking at the hands of the Gold Coast Suns is more proof this city is the undefeated “death zone” of Australian sport.

The Gold Coast Suns and Titans.

COMMENT

If you want a professional sporting team to die a slow death of mediocrity in Australia, start one on the Gold Coast.

Stuart Dew was sacked by the Gold Coast Suns on Tuesday, effective immediately, as the latest victim of the ‘death zone’ of Australian sport.

Dew was in his sixth season as coach, but after heavy losses to Collingwood and Port Adelaide (the AFL’s best two teams), the Suns had seen enough and the Suns bid adieu to Dew.

The coach had been contracted until the end of the 2024 season, but with triple premiership coach Damien Hardwick available as a gun for hire after quitting Richmond mid-season, the Suns were left with little choice.

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It was a tough call on Dew, who has had to endure seasons with injuries to ruckman Jarrod Witts, key forward Ben King and All Australian midfielder Touk Miller.

But critics will say Gold Coast botched its list management and Dew has given too many games to fringe players instead of giving highly rated youngsters a proper go in the senior team.

Stuart Dew is the latest victim of the Gold Coast death zone. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Alas, coaches live and die by the win-loss column and 36 wins from six seasons in charge ain’t a great ratio by anyone’s standards.

They might as well have blasted the Queen classic Another One Bites the Dust across Surfers Paradise as news of Dew’s sacking was made official.

His demise is another harsh reminder of the lack of success by the Suns and the Gold Coast Titans since they entered the AFL and NRL as expansion teams.

The Suns have never made finals, even when Gary Ablett Jnr was at the peak of his powers winning a Brownlow Medal in 2013. Since coming into the AFL in 2011, their best finish on the ladder is 12th out of 18 teams.

Let’s turn our attention to the Titans. Since entering the NRL in 2007, they’ve made the finals five times from 16 seasons — including top four finishes in 2009 and 2010.

But let’s be real, the Titans have never been a genuine chance to win the premiership.

They have a strong roster at the moment, headlined by forwards David Fifita and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

But are staring down the barrel of another wasted season, the Titans shocked the NRL with a clandestine sacking of coach Justin Holbrook, replacing him with Des Hasler, who won two premierships as Manly coach and led the Bulldogs to two grand finals.

Justin Holbrook was sacked by the Titans. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The Titans have made finals but also have the curse of mediocrity. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

It was a brutal but necessary move by the Titans, who are desperate to rise from the mediocrity of the NRL midtable.

And with Ben Hunt wanting out of the Dragons, all signs pointed to the halfback moving north to join Kieran Foran in the halves on the Gold Coast.

With Des in charge and Hunt said to be keen on signing, on paper it was all starting to come together for the Titans.

That was before the Dragons played hardball to hold Hunt to his contract, at least for the rest of this season.

But poor old Des could be left without Fifita and Fa’asuamaleaui after reports the two forwards had their contracts tied to former coach Holbrook.

The bombshell has opened the door for Ricky Stuart’s Canberra Raiders to throw the bank at Fifita, while Fa’asuamaleaui’s future is up in the air.

So come next year, Hasler could be without his two star forwards wondering what he signed up for and hoping for AJ Brimson to perform some sort of miracle.

All this leads us back to the nightmare that is football teams on the Gold Coast.

They’ll give you hope in the form of an 80-minute game from Fifita and some early season wins by the Suns — but when push comes to shove they’ll finish 12th on the ladder and destroy any loyal fan’s soul.

The Gold Coast Suns have neve made the AFL finals. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Interestingly, both the Suns and Titans have sacked ‘nice guy’ coaches in Dew and Holbrook, replacing them with premiership masterminds in Hasler, and likely Hardwick.

Will Hasler and Hardwick be able to defeat the Gold Coast death zone? It might take a few years, but I’m predicting it will churn them out and spit them out the other side.

Does Clive Palmers’ Gold Coast United ring a bell? Don’t blame you if it doesn’t.

The football team had moderate success in its three seasons in the A-League from 2009-2012 before the FFA revoked Palmers’ licence.

The struggles of the Suns and Titans also suggest expansion sides rarely work in Australian sport, especially on the Gold Coast.

Expansion results in having an uneven number of teams, meaning the season is disjointed by weekly byes, as we’re seeing in the NRL.

It’s why the race is on for an 18th NRL team to join the Dolphins, and a 20th AFL team is inevitable once Tasmania enters the AFL in a few years.

The GWS Giants have had the best on-field success, but their crowd numbers don’t make for pretty reading.

You can also make the argument that the NRL won’t be a properly complete competition until the New Zealand Warriors win a premiership.

Good luck Gold Coast fans. Here’s hoping your sporting dreams don’t crash and burn again.