Eade sacked as Gold Coast Suns coach

Veteran coach Rodney Eade’s tenure at the Gold Coast Suns is over, effectively immediately.

Suns coach Rodney Eade talks to his players during the round 19 AFL match against Richmond at Metricon Stadium. Photo: Getty Images

Veteran coach Rodney Eade’s tenure at the Gold Coast Suns is over.

The 59-year-old was informed last night by Suns chief executive Mark Evans that he would not be reappointed.

It is understood he will not coach the Suns in the final three games of the season. Dean Solomon, who played with Essendon and Fremantle and is highly regarded, will coach the Suns for their final three matches.

Eade had been due to coach is 378th game this weekend, which would have seen him draw level with Checker Hughes in 13th position on the most games coached list.

He is without a premiership in that time, though he took Sydney to the grand final in 1996 and the Western Bulldogs to a string of preliminary finals.

But he could not produce the same results with the Gold Coast, which entered the competition in 2011. The Suns remain the only AFL club yet to play a final.

Eade coached the Suns to four wins in 2015, six wins last year and six wins in the current season.

Not that he enjoyed a lot of luck in terms of the fitness of his list.

When awarded the job after serving as Collingwood’s director of football, the Suns midfield boasted significant promise.

But champion Gary Ablett has been hampered by injury throughout Eade’s tenure, former Rising Star Jaeger O’Meara scarcely played before leaving for Hawthorn this year, David Swallow is only just showing signs of his best after chronic knee problems and Dion Prestia opted to move to Richmond.

Contenders for the job are likely to include former Lion and ex-Hawthorn assistant coach John Barker, who is now working at Carlton in support of Brendon Bolton and recently had his tenure extended.