Rebounding Suns out to defy horror numbers
THE size of the task in front of the Suns in 2019 has been revealed in damning statistics that show Gold Coast have just two of the AFL’s 198 “elite” or “above average” players on their list.
The club already have no shortage of motivation given AFL great Matthew Lloyd last week labelled Gold Coast’s list “the worst on paper in the history of the AFL”. Fitzroy in 1964 were the last team to go winless and the last team to win a single game for a year (1996).
New figures from Champion Data show that, after moving on 15 players in the off-season, the Suns don’t have an “elite” player.
A player is deemed “elite” if they are in the top 10 per cent of the competition for their position. The departed Tom Lynch and Aaron Hall were rated “elite” in 2018.
Gold Coast have just two “above average” players, Nick Holman and Lachie Weller. In the off-season the Suns lost co-captains Lynch and Steven May, ball winners Jarryd Lyons and Hall, top-10 picks Jack Scrimshaw and Kade Kolodjashnij and top-15 pick Jesse Lonergan.
The Suns have the least “elite” or “above average” players, with Melbourne’s 16 in those two categories rated No.1 in the AFL. The league average is 11. They hope to start their list build with a draft arsenal that includes picks two, three, six, 24 and 29, plus two first-round picks in the 2019 national draft.
Gold Coast have secured a trio of mature-aged state league players.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan believes with strong executives and coaches in place, including coach Stuart Dew, Mark Evans, Craig Cameron and Jon Haines, the Suns can follow a similar path to improving Brisbane.
But former Brisbane CEO Andrew Ireland, now the exiting Swans CEO, said last week he was surprised at the lack of support from the AFL.
“To me, Gold Coast are in a position where they need additional help,” Ireland said.
“If they got extra salary cap space, extra picks in the draft, they could do with that at the moment.”