Coast in cap crunch battle
GOLD Coast plans to fix a surprise salary cap crunch by 2019 but will be limited in the upcoming trade period by an extremely tight cap.
The battling Suns are the last club many would expect to have a full salary cap given their lack of on-field success but have a significant wage bill for the talent on their list.
Chief executive Mark Evans has tasked new list manager Craig Cameron with fixing the problem by the 2019 season so the Suns can be aggressive in trade discussions.
The likely departure of Tom Lynch to Richmond will ease some of those concerns but the Suns simply have too many players on too much money for their output.
Factors involved in the cap crunch include:
Having to effectively pay a retention premium across the board to players given their managers continually link them to moves south.
The back-ending of multiple deals after an injury crisis forced the club to pay more in injury payments than initially accounted for, forcing the club to push back portions of some contracts into future years.
Multiple players being awarded pay rises under the AFL’s CBA rise of 20 per cent last season.
Handing big contracts to experienced recruits, with Lachie Weller and Pearce Hanley among those to come to the club on healthy wages.
Being forced to hand top 10 draft selections lucrative deals to extend their contracts to four seasons, with Will Brodie, Ben Ainsworth, Jack Bowes and Jack Scrimshaw on bigger wages than many other players of their experience.
The Suns have knocked back interest from Sydney’s Jake Lloyd, who was said to want $500,000-plus a season.
When Lynch leaves it will ease the salary cap squeeze but the Suns are determined to build methodically rather than throw that cash at a quick fix.
Initially they had hoped their premiership window might start in the 2017 season and their wages were paid out accordingly.
Injuries and player departures mean they are yet to play finals in their eight-year history, with a decision still ahead of co-captain Steven May.
The Suns are keen to add Richmond midfielder Anthony Miles and Geelong onballer George Horlin-Smith but will lose Lynch, Matt Rosa and Aaron Hall.
“We’re obviously interested (in Horlin-Smith),” coach Stuart Dew said.