SUNS SEE BENEFITS IN HOSTING AFL HUB
THE current Queensland AFL hub has bolstered Gold Coast’s bid to become a destination club and Suns bosses believe they won’t need to break the bank to do it.
Gold Coast has become home to Port Adelaide, Adelaide, West Coast and Fremantle on the back of COVID-19 restrictions.
The hub has provided players and staff an extended opportunity to see the popular city and get a greater appreciation of the Suns training and administration base, believed to be one of the best in Australia.
Suns CEO Mark Evans said it would provide the club with an even greater ability to attract quality talent.
“I would think just like our staff and players they will get a good sense of life on the Gold Coast as being an amazing place to train and play football,” Evans said.
“It’s also an amazing place to have that balance in your life and if you like surfing, swimming, walking on the beach or getting away from it, then it’s the ideal place to be an elite athlete.
“If some of them fall in love with the Gold Coast while they are here, we would happily take calls from their agents.”
Evans said the Suns had room to move in their salary cap, something they worked hard to fix in recent years, but believed they wouldn’t need to pay overs to lure a high-end talent anymore.
“The strongest part of our strategy is to build a culture around a group of players who want to stay and play for the Suns,” Evans said.
The Suns are away to Geelong on Saturday.