Rogers ‘chance’ for Suns debut

Draftee next in line

Gold Coast could consider handing its fourth and final Suns Academy draftee a debut next weekend in the wake of Malcolm Rosas Jr’s untimely hamstring injury.

Coach Damien Hardwick confirmed the injury following the Suns’ 53-point win over Hawthorn on Saturday night and lamented the loss of his livewire small forward, who limped off clutching at his right leg during the third quarter.

“It’s disappointing because those small, crafty pocket (forwards) are hard to find,” Hardwick said of Rosas, who had kicked seven goals in three games before the Hawks clash.

“He made some great inroads last week (against GWS) and started off well tonight and then to get the injury puts him back.

“He’s been a good player for us. We have some soldiers down at VFL level that played pretty well today so we’ll look at those guys and hopefully have a ready-made replacement.”

Hardwick revealed last year’s No.14 pick, Jake Rogers, was “a chance” of filling the Rosas Jr void next weekend against the Swans. Rogers is the only Suns Academy draftee from last year yet to make his AFL debut.

The small forward had 20 touches in the VFL win over Box Hill earlier on Saturday, days after Hardwick declared he was “close” to getting his AFL start following an injuryinterrupted pre-season.

That time could come sooner than expected after the Rosas Jr injury (pictured). “He’s a chance. He can play that role, he’s very clean at ground level,” Hardwick said.

“Whether (it’s) him, Darcy Macpherson (or) Ben Long (who) played pretty well today. We have a number of players that will be able to fulfil that role, we just have to find the right one.”

Hardwick has been rewarded by the youngsters whom he has handed debuts to this season and they all played prominent roles against the Hawks on Saturday night.

In his third AFL game, key forward Jed Walter booted two goals, as did second-gamers Ethan Read and Sam Clohesy, while midfielder Will Graham had a game-high 14 tackles.