ROSA AND OUT AFTER BATTLE WITH INJURY
A SERIOUS foot injury has prompted midfielder Matt Rosa to end a long AFL career spanning more than 200 games with West Coast and Gold Coast.
The 31-year-old made his senior debut for the Eagles back in 2005 and went on to play 168 matches for the club, the last of which was the 2015 losing grand final.
Rosa was then traded to the Suns, where he managed another 39 games for a career tally of 207.
But he was limited to only five matches this year by a syndesmosis injury.
“Unfortunately, my body has been telling me for some time that it can no longer cope with the demands of the game at the highest level,” Rosa said in an open letter to Gold Coast fans.
Meanwhile, the Lions and Suns are set to battle to secure the son of Marcus Ashcroft. Will Ashcroft, 14, is the eldest son of triple premiership Lion Marcus and was named All Australian after starring for Queensland as a bottom-ager in the national 15s schoolboy carnival in South Australia late last month.
Ashcroft (left) has been in the Suns academy since he was 12 and is also eligible to play for the Lions under father-son rules.