SUNS GAME BIG BOON FOR FANS AFL supporters relish announcement of Riverway clash
THE will- they, won’t- they drama between Bryce Gibbs and Adelaide has taken another twist, with talks between the Crows and Carlton apparently collapsing ahead of the AFL trade deadline.
A deal to send the Blues’ midfielder to Adelaide appeared to be imminent when Crows officials arrived at AFL House late yesterday.
But the Crows left without comment soon after, and it quickly became clear a trade would not be struck just yet.
Reports suggested the Crows had agreed to part with two first- round draft selections, with the stall in negotiations related to a future pick swap. Both parties had claimed to have moved on from a potential trade involving Gibbs but yesterday’s flurry of activity suggests he is more likely to wind up at West Lakes.
Adelaide’s failed pursuit of Gibbs last year went down to the wire, and it appears negotiations between the Crows and Blues will again run close to today’s 2pm deadline.
Should Gibbs be dealt to Carlton, Adelaide could be more willing to grant forward Charlie Cameron his desired trade to Brisbane.
The Gibbs’ trade is one of several key deals set to be resolved on the final day.
Gary Ablett appears certain to be traded from Gold Coast to Geelong, with the Cats set to give up draft picks rather than a player. Cats midfielder Darcy Lang had been weighing up a move to the Suns but has reportedly chosen Carlton.
Ablett’s manager Liam Pickering met officials from Geelong and Gold Coast yesterday afternoon, with all parties confident of a deal.
Essendon and the Western Bulldogs continued to haggle over the value of estranged Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer. Stringer’s management had indicated there was no chance of him remaining at Whitten Oval, although there appeared to be no significant movement yesterday in negotiations.
Fremantle’s Lachie Weller remains set on Gold Coast.
The 11th deal of the trade period landed yesterday morning with Melbourne receiving Fremantle midfielder Harley Balic in exchange for a fourthround draft pick.
Adelaide agreed to send Harrison Wigg, yet to make his senior debut, to Gold Coast in exchange for an upgraded third- round draft selection. EXCITEMENT is building around the Sherrin- kicking code in Townsville after the Gold Coast Suns announced they would play an AFL premiership game at Riverway Stadium in 2019 or 2020.
As revealed by the Townsville Bulletin, Tourism and Major Events minister Kate Jones made the historic announcement official yesterday, saying Cairns would host an eighth straight AFL game in 2018 followed by Towns- ville’s inaugural game more than two years later.
The news is music to the ears of local AFL fans, who last got a taste of up close action in 2015 when the Suns played Geelong in a NAB Challenge match.
Perhaps most important is the fact the region’s young AFL players, including those from the Suns’ Townsvillebased academy, will get to see their heroes play in the flesh.
Townsville junior and former Suns player Josh Hall, who has played NAB Challenge games in the city and AFL games in Cairns, said the announcement was unprecedented for the region. no
“I’m just so proud of the Suns for finally doing it,” Hall said. “I grew up here and I had to go down south to watch my first AFL game, and I sat there in awe of how different it is watching live compared to TV.
“I’ve played games up here before and I’m sure the public will get behind it.
“For a lot of young kids it could be their first time being at an AFL game, and who knows that might make them want to play. You just never know if a future superstar is inspired by it.”
AFL Townsville regional manager Kathleen Newman said the announcement had put Townsville’s AFL scene back on the map. “We thought having an AFL game played in Townsville was years away,” she said. “But with a change of administration and coach at the Suns, they know how important it is to have AFL games played in regional areas.
“For a while it did feel like we were not really in the picture, but now we’re back and this announcement just puts AFL in the forefront of people’s minds.”
The move also comes on the heels of the Suns’ recent acceptance into the 2020 AFL women’s league.
“There’ll certainly be at least a couple of our local girls competing to be in that Suns team,” she said.
Mayor Jenny Hill said the announcement was a big win for Townsville.
“There is no doubt we can package our tourism products around this national sporting event that will appeal to all visitors for the match,” she said. “We have the Cowboys, the Fire, V8s, next year we will have the Commonwealth Games, and the Gold Coast Suns AFL game will add to the breadth of our national sporting events.”
Details of how to purchase tickets will be released early in 2018 on AFL. com. au and goldcoastfc. com. au