GILLON BACKS IN THE SUNS

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has backed in the long-term future of the Suns, saying it was “nonsense” to suggest the expansion club was on its last chance.

McLachlan defended the list of extra draft picks that will see the Suns take the first two picks on Thursday, saying they had broad club support.

As Tasmania pushes for its own team, McLachlan did not waver on the future of the

Suns. The Tasmanian AFL task force is set to deliver its report to the AFL on a way forward for the state’s own team by the end of 2019 but it won’t be from Gold Coast relocation.

The Suns have a three-year package of extra draft picks but as McLachlan said, if they rapidly rise up the ladder, the third season of extra selections could be removed from that suite of picks.

The Suns will receive an extra mid-first-round pick in next year’s draft as well as an added selection at the start of the 2021 draft, plus zone allowances to Darwin.

McLachlan said Melbourne’s experience, missing finals in the 11 seasons from 2007 to 2017, showed it wasn’t only expansion clubs that had long periods of struggling.

Asked on an AFL website podcast if it the extra picks were the club’s “last chance”, he said: “No, that’s nonsense. Clubs who are over 100 years old, over the last 10 or 15 years they have periods where they have struggled.

“If you look at Melbourne they had 15 years of not getting it right. They played in a grand final in 2000 and then until last year, when they made a prelim, they had a long period of time without making finals.

“This is a very young club who made a couple of poor decisions, got some injuries and got themselves into bad shape and it’s a tough industry at the moment.

“So they are not the only ones who have got themselves into bad shape in the next period of time.”

The Demons were able to secure priority picks and AFL financial assistance to eventually turn around their on-field fortunes.

McLachlan said other clubs wanted to know what picks the Suns would receive into the future rather than be “dripfed” extra picks after applying for them each year.

“I think our clubs supported a strong helping hand to the Gold Coast. I got that from all the clubs and whether they think it’s big, what is implicit if you are going to give them a strong hand is some certainty.”