Northern venture for Suns in search
THE Suns’ hunt for fans will extend into North Queensland with the ambitious club to play an AFL premiership season fixture in Townsville for the first time in 2019.
The match, locked in for Riverway Stadium on Saturday, June 15, against St Kilda, will be the first time the city has hosted an AFL regular season game.
Acting Suns CEO Andrew Thomas said the fixture was part of a deeper push into the state, though it may raise concerns over another long season of travel given the issues of 2018.
“We know North Queensland fans are passionate about AFL,” Thomas said.
“As a club we have established significant support in North Queensland.
“For the past eight seasons we have played an annual match in Cairns and we are thrilled to now be sharing this match with Townsville and its many AFL fans.”
The Suns have already committed to playing a JLT Cup preseason match in Mackay in early March.
Meanwhile, the sweeping changes of Gold Coast’s playing list have continued with midfielder Jesse Lonergan (right) to depart the Suns after six years.
Gold Coast have confirmed Lonergan’s exit and announced plans to move Brad Scheer and Harrison Wigg from the senior list to rookie list.
Lonergan, 23, has played 60 games for Gold Coast after being taken with pick 13 in the 2012 draft.
“On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank Jesse for his commitment to the club over the past six seasons, and wish him all the best for the future,” Suns football manager Jon Haines said.
The Tasmanian was plagued by injuries in his first two seasons with the club, suffering a broken hand and recurring hamstring injuries which kept him to just 13 games during that period.
DEVELOPMENT opportunities for under-16 players across the state have been streamlined as part of a restructure overseen by the Gold Coast Suns and AFL Queensland.
AFLQ, in conjunction with the Suns, yesterday announced the state’s existing under-16 talent pathways would be transformed into a new four-phase program.
The Suns will be responsible for developing the overall coaching and training program, with AFLQ to run the weekly program operations.
“The Suns North Queensland region is a fertile talent zone and (it) is a significant responsibility that the academy oversees this part of the pathway,” AFLQ talent and academies state manager Mark Browning said.
“It is important that AFL Queensland fully maximises the expertise of the Suns to ensure each player reaches his full potential with access to a very high-level development program.”