Suns guns good news for cellar dwellers
SILKY Gold Coast midfielder Brayden Fiorini says young guns Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson have the Suns buzzing.
Rowell and Anderson were taken by the Suns with the top two draft picks at the end of last year and the best friends made their senior AFL debuts together when the Gold Coast lost to Port Adelaide in Round 1 back in March.
They returned to Melbourne to be with their families when the competition was put on hold for two months and have hit the ground running this week when the Gold Coast returned to training.
Rowell and Anderson have been in the seven-man training group alongside Fiorini, who was elevated to the Gold Coast leadership group last year when he averaged a club-high 25 disposals per game and finished fifth in the best-and-fairest.
After a stop-start opening few seasons, the 22-year-old Fiorini has found the consistency to go with his class, composure and clever ball.
Entering his fifth season in the AFL system, Fiorini said he has not had to use his leadership skills around Rowell and Anderson.
“I don’t need to with those fellas, they are really self-driven and really professional. It feels like they’ve been around the club for a long time,’’ Fiorini said.
“Wittsy [co-captain Jarrod Witts] and I are looking over them but they are actually really driving training at the moment and holding us to a higher standard as well which is good to see.”
Fiorini said the two-month forced break had brought the players closer together and that tight-knit bond will serve the young Suns well as they navigate the uncharted waters of the 2020 season.
“We have been continually checking in over the break with support groups and catch-ups so we are pumped to be back together,” he said.
“We don’t really know how the season is going to play out so we’ll go with the flow and try to keep the enthusiasm up.”