WHOLE NEW BAG OF TRICKS
COAST FOOTY IDENTITIES GIVE THEIR SUNS SYNOPSIS
IS there such a thing as calling it too early?
We know we’re only three rounds into the season and we know that there are 14 to go before finals … but boy, have the Suns been impressive.
First they knocked off AFL premiership fancies West Coast by 44 points before making their match against Adelaide the next week look like a training run at Metricon.
To put it simply, we’re on the Suns 2020 bandwagon and seats are filling up fast.
Ahead of the club’s Round 4 clash against the Fremantle Dockers, we’ve approached five prominent Gold Coast footy figures to get their thoughts on the Suns.
LYNTON MARTIN Suns super fan
Why could the 2020 Suns finally be the real deal and the making of the club?
The way we are playing footy is exciting. We have great speed, passion, and pressure across the whole ground. Everyone has each other’s back, which will go a long way to making the club successful. We have gotten the culture finally right and competition for spots is red hot. The young brigade has brought a whole bunch of energy and the older boys are feeding off it.
What do they need to do now to take the next step?
We need to show we can play when the pressure is on. We’ve had two great games so far but our challenge is consistency. Especially with a young team we will have ups and downs but we just need to show the footy world that we can play and live up to the favourites tag. If we can do that, we might be the real deal and continue making progress to success.
KALINDA HOWARTH Suns AFLW and All-Australian
Why could the 2020 Suns finally be the real deal and the making of the club?
When the AFLW team first came into the club we were made to feel very welcome by the boys and they had a great culture already embedded. We have a real whole-of-club mentality and hopefully the boys were inspired after we made finals for the first time in our season.
What do they need to do now to take the next step?
A bunch of us girls went along to watch the boys play last week and we were really impressed. They’re playing a really exciting brand of footy so if they can keep that up for the rest of the year we’re sure they’ll have a great season.
MICHAEL RISCHITELLI Former Suns player
Why could the 2020 Suns finally be the real deal and the making of the club?
It’s obviously very early days. During the history of the Suns, we seem to play pretty well at the start of year. The real test is going to be during the year if they do pick up any injuries as such but so far they’ve shown promise.
Coming into the fourth round, they’ve got another test but they don’t have to change too much.
What do they need to do now to take the next step?
For the most part, it’s going to be about not overthinking it and stick to what they’ve been doing. They’ve been starting games really well and it looks like they’re working harder than opposition by watching it. The last two rounds, they’ve been a lot cleaner and they’ve gotten more numbers around the ball to the point it looks like they’ve got an extra man.
NICOLE GRAVES Coolangatta QAFLW coach
Why could the 2020 Suns finally be the real deal and the making of the club?
There’s a couple of different anomalies this year and teams who haven’t been successful playing good footy.
The Suns are young and exciting. They have a nothing to lose attitude and they’re really committed to one another. A few talented young guys have signed on so they obviously believe in whatever Dewy is doing down there. They’re definitely up and about but time will tell.
What do they need to do now to take the next step?
It’s a timing thing now. The improvement is going to come from the young guys. If you can get a couple seasons into those middle tier, 50-100 game players, success will come with the balance of youth and experience.
STEPHEN DANIEL Southport Sharks NEAFL coach
Why could the 2020 Suns finally be the real deal and the making of the club?
I don’t think this year will quite be their year.
I think they’ve shown enough improvement already but next year is going to be a big year for them. They’re going be a good side, but it’s all about getting games into their young guns. They’ve got a lot of young talent approaching 40-50 game marks so if you can get 18 games into them, they’ll develop nicely.
What do they need to do now to take the next step?
I think they’ve got what they need now to be honest.
They’ve put together an impressive list but they need a bit of belief to grow together as a group.
They’re showing that already so the future is looking pretty bright.
Suns B: Budarick, Collins, Lukosius HB: Hanley, Ballard, Harbrow C: Weller, Greenwood, Anderson HF: Powell, Day, B.Ellis F: Sexton, King, Ainsworth FOLL: Witts, Swallow, Rowell I/C: Bowes, Miller, Holman, MacPherson
EMG: Fiorini, Corbett, Lemmens, Flanders
Dockers B: Hill, Logue, Conca HB: Wilson, Ryan, Hughes C: Bewley, Fyfe, Aish HF: Schult, Taberner, Serong F: Colyer, Hogan, Walters FOLL: Lobb, Brayshaw, Tucker I/C: Matera, Mundy, Cerra, Young EMG: Darcy, Duman, Blakely, Banfield