Dew grapples with Suns improvement
AFL: New Suns coach Stuart Dew has enlisted the help of an ex-special forces soldier to help Gold Coast wrestle their way to success in 2018.
Gold Coast have placed an unprecedented focus on wrestling and grappling during the early stages of pre-season training (pictured) in a bid to improve their contested work.
The Suns were ranked 14th in contested possessions in the 2017 season with the young side struggling to offer resistance against more physical opponents.
Wrestling techniques are becoming more prevalent in AFL with players pinning arms to stop the opposition from disposing of the ball while the sling tackle came under heavy criticism in 2017.
Dew spent his coaching apprenticeship at the Sydney Swans, a team renowned for their contested work, and he hasn’t wasted any time trying to improve the Suns’ physical presence.
Dew has brought in Suns NEAFL trainer Scott Steer to conduct the wrestling and grappling sessions.
Steer is a former national judo champion who spent 10 years in the military as a special forces soldier, serving tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Suns midfielder David Swallow, one of Gold Coast’s toughest players, said the team was relishing the opportunity to evolve that side of their game.
“We have done some wrestling before but I think it is going to be much more of a focus this pre-season,” he said. “You look at the best teams and they are all good contested-ball sides. Stuey has come out of the Sydney bloods culture and the way they play their footy is around contested footy and tackling.
“He is definitely going to bring that side of things to us.”