Losing out has to end

WHAT do Tom Mitchell, Zac Tuohy, James Frawley, Jeremy Howe and Brett Deledio have in common?

They all knocked back approaches from the Gold Coast Suns.

Every so often a media outlet or fan forum will pick a side made up of ex-Suns to highlight the club’s retention issues.

But a side of the rejecters would give the defectors a serious run for their money.

This week’s revelation that the Suns want to lure Shaun Burgoyne on a four-year deal, two as a player and two as a coach, proves the reality of recruiting players to the Gold Coast has hit home for coach Stuart Dew as his side prepares to take on Carlton at Marvel Stadium today.

Burgoyne has been a star of the competition, but at 36 years of age, is he the best choice for the Suns or just the best they can get?

The most popular commentary around the Suns’ request for a priority pick is that they should be granted one, but on the proviso they trade it for an A-grade player. It isn’t that easy.

They traded pick two, which is the priority selection they are chasing, to Fremantle two years ago for Lachie Weller.

Weller is a keen surfer who considered the Coast home. He was one of the rare players who wanted to come that were in the best 22 at their previous club.

And they still paid massive overs. They cannot go down that path again if that’s the exchange rate.

Which is why they have identified that the draft is their best chance to secure talent, but they need experienced players around them to help their development.

It is nothing new.

They had the exact same strategy under Guy McKenna and Rodney Eade.

Until 2017 those regimes were fighting with one arm tied behind their back because the club didn’t have the state of the art facility as a selling point, and were trying to entice players to come up and work out of tin sheds.

In recent years Hawks pair Liam Shiel and Isaac Smith wouldn’t even give them an audience.