Dew the hot tip as coach of the Suns

STUART Dew is the hot tip to be named the new coach of the Gold Coast Suns today.

The Suns are expected to announce Dew’s appointment after it was reportedly ratified at a hastily convened board meeting at the club’s Carrara headquarters last night.

Suns co-captain Steven May also arrived at the club in the evening to hear first-hand who would be his third senior coach.

The Swans’ senior assistant coach was expected to pip the initial favourite, Carlton’s John Barker, and fast finisher Hawk Scott Burns in the race to replace Rodney Eade, who was sacked on August 7 with three games remaining.

Dew was the recommendation of CEO Mark Evans, chairman Tony Cochrane and directors Paul Scurrah and Martin Rowlands.

Evans has a previous relationship with Dew from his time as football manager at Hawthorn when the former Port Adelaide star, who by his own admission was overweight and unfit at the time, was lured out of retirement to play a superb cameo in the Hawks’ stunning 2008 premiership upset of favourite Geelong. GOLD Coast is in for an anxious wait in 2018, with the manager of co-captain Tom Lynch saying the star forward would take a wait-and-see approach before committing to the Suns.

Lynch’s manager said yesterday the 24-year-old Victorian would closely eye what direction the Suns take before assessing his own future.

Lynch is widely considered the best young key forward in the game and on the open market would likely command up to $1 million per season.

“Tom is a competitive beast and wants to win games of football, and obviously win premierships,” Robbie D’Orazio told AFL Trade Radio.