Gold Coast no longer interested in Tippett
THE door has been slammed shut on Kurt Tippett at the Gold Coast Suns after they dismissed the notion of snapping up the defecting Adelaide forward if talks with Sydney broke down.
Adelaide is determined to receive adequate compensation from the Swans if the ruck-forward is to get his wish and join the AFL premiers.
Tippett will be forced to nominate for the draft pool if he is not traded by October 26 — and with the No. 2 preseason pick, the Suns would be in a prime position to nab the Queenslander.
However, Suns football manager Marcus Ashcroft said they had ‘‘ moved on’’ since receiving the shock news that Tippett wanted to move to Sydney rather than return to his home state.
Asked if they were monitoring Tippett’s stalled talks with the Swans, Ashcroft said: ‘‘No, we have moved on. ‘‘His decision has been made. We respect that.’’
The Suns did have one player announcement yesterday – signing 18-year-old Clay Cameron as a Queensland zone s e l e c t i o n at next month’s national draft to be held on the Gold Coast.
The 191cm, 83kg defender is set to make his Suns debut in the pre-season NAB Cup.
Ashcroft said they would wait for their next move in the trade period after last week securing Hawthorn’s Tom Murphy and cutting a deal with Geelong for Josh Caddy.
‘‘Our No.1 priority was to get Josh a home back in Victoria. That’s now done,’’ Ashcroft said.
‘‘ And obviously we were interested in Kurt.’’
The Suns must reduce their once 46-strong roster to 39 by October 31 to make room for their three draft picks.
‘‘There are still six to 10 players that are uncontracted for next year,’’ Ashcroft said.
‘‘It’s a balancing act to work out exactly what our needs are for next year through the trade period, and that’s still got another two weeks.’’