Dew appointed new Suns coach
Suns get their man with AFL premiership winner named new coach
THE Gold Coast
Suns have appointed Stuart Dew as their new senior coach for the 2018 AFL season.
Dew (pictured), a senior assistant at the successful Sydney Swans, was given the nod at a hastily convened board meeting last night.
It is expected the club will make the announcement today.
The 38-yearold replaces Rodney Eade at the Suns. Eade was sacked on August 7 with three games remaining in his third season at the club.
Dew kicked 265 goals in 206 AFL games, made his debut in 1997, and was a premiership player with Port Adelaide in 2004 and Hawthorn in 2008.
STUART Dew is the new coach of the Gold Coast Suns.
The Suns are expected to announce Dew’s appointment today after it was 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 AFL coach.
The Swans’ senior assistant coach pipped 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 in the season.
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 favourites Geelong.
In terms of success, Dew clearly possessed the superior resume having played in two premierships and been an assistant at another.
Neither Barker or Burns have a premiership medallion.
However, it is understood the selection panel could not separate the final three shortlisted candidates off the strength of their presentations and Evans was asked by the three directors to gather references on the candidates.
Dew was swept into the position by a tidal wave of endorsement from colleagues and players at Sydney.
Swans coach John Longmire and premiership captain Jarrad McVeigh were particularly complimentary on the role that Dew had played in the Swans’ success. Sydney premiership player Nick Malceski, who is now a development coach at the Suns, also gave a glowing appraisal.
The 38-year-old was second favourite to Barker when Eade was sacked but was a tentative applicant until Port’s Ken Hinkley was out of the running.
Dew played 206 AFL games and was also a premiership player with Port Adelaide in 2004.
He joined the Sydney Swans as a development coach in 2009 and has risen up the ranks to be Longmire’s senior lieutenant.
He was credited as being a key driver behind their 2012 premiership success.
Dew was Paul Roos’ choice to be his successor at Melbourne back in 2013 but the former Hawk and Power strong man turned his back on the opportunity to further his development at the Swans.
Simon Goodwin eventually won the role.
Dew was also heavily endorsed for the vacant Brisbane Lions job at the end of last year but chose not to apply.
He is a graduate of the AFL’s level-four coaching course.