Rischitelli close on new deal for Suns
MICHAEL Rischitelli is in contract talks with the Gold Coast and is expected to play on with the Suns in 2018.
The AFL veteran is likely to sign a one-year contract extension in the next month.
There is no talk from within the club that it could be Rischitelli’s swan song.
Rischitelli has been labelled by many at the Suns as the heart and soul of the club and his presence is needed now more than ever as they prepare to undergo another rebuild, potentially without Gary Ablett.
It will take the 31-year-old foundation Gold Coast player into an eighth season at the Suns and 15th in the AFL after seven years at the Brisbane Lions.
If Ablett leaves the Gold Coast, amid speculation he wants to return home to Geelong, it would leave Rischitelli as the most experienced player on the Suns list with 215 games to his name.
The tough midfielder made a successful return from serious injury this year, playing four AFL games late in the season and seven for the reserves.
Rischitelli could have pulled the pin on the club’s disappointing season after the Round 23 loss to the Port Adelaide Power.
But the man who has put the club first throughout his whole tenure played a week later in the Suns’ NEAFL elimination final against the Sydney Swans.
Rischitelli suffered an ACL injury playing against Brisbane in July last year and declared earlier this season that he wanted to play on beyond 2017 but his body’s ability to bounce back would ultimately determine his future in the game.
The respected club figure was initially signed by the Gold Coast for their inaugural AFL season in 2011 to add experience and mentor a crop of young players.
Rischitelli has continually pushed the club through many setbacks on field and controversies off it.
He will likely be called on again to help lead the club through a fragile time over the next 12 months.
Gold Coast, who will appoint a third coach, are undergoing a major football review and list changes.
They have a battle to secure the signature of cocaptain Tom Lynch who will become a restricted free agent at the end of 2018.