Midfield ace denies defection rumours
SUNS midfielder Brayden Fiorini says he has no interest in seeking a trade to go back home to Victoria.
The 21-year-old has been linked to a shift but declared he was committed to sticking out his contract with the Suns, due to end in 2020.
“No, not at all,” Fiorini said when asked about the reports. “I’m still contracted until the end of next year. I love the club. I don’t know where that has come from.
“It’s that time of year. Obviously I’m from Victoria so everyone puts that about wanting to go back there. It’s home now at the Gold Coast.”
Fiorini was among Gold Coast’s top performers in their 15.9 (99) to 11.9 (75) loss to Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, recording 32 disposals, three clearances and five inside 50s for the Suns.
Co-captains David Swallow and Jarrod Witts are the clear frontrunners to win Gold Coast’s club champion award but Fiorini, who has played a career-high 15 games this season, is probably in the top five.
The midfielder said he had faced challenges with the increased workload but had started feeling the improvement in his game.
“I thought I was hitting the wall the last few weeks and getting a bit fatigued,” Fiorini said. “I just had to refresh and keep training hard. It’s more the mental drain.
“I’m loving it this year and being out on the park.”
Fiorini has been working closely with developing midfielder Will Brodie, who suffered
a hamstring injury in the loss to the Blues.
But Fiorini said he had seen enough over the course of the season to know Brodie would make a big impact on the game in the coming years.
“I have been tracking and helping him a lot,” Fiorini said.
“I see how hard he trains during the week and obviously disappointing the last couple of years he has been in and out of the side.
“That was due to a few different reasons but he has been working on his defensive transition and workrate as a mid and I feel as though he has improved in that space dramatically.
“His inside work is elite so he doesn’t need to work on that much. I feel as though he has been and that’s why he has been playing consistent AFL footy.
“I’m spewing for him he doesn’t get to keep stringing games together.
“He is already having a big impact for us. It’s starting to click for him.
“He has a bright future.”