BEN’S RISE IS OFFICIAL
YOUNG SUN GETS AWARD GIG:
SUNS young gun Ben Ainsworth has been hailed a bright spark in another dark season and more than worthy for his Rising Star nomination.
Ainsworth was among Gold Coast’s best against Essendon, kicking a game-high three goals while bringing his trademark defensive pressure despite a slight ankle injury.
The 19-year-old – taken at No. 4 in last year’s draft – was overlooked for a Round 15 nomination when he booted four goals, with Hawk Blake Hardwick getting the nod.
But May believes the firstyear player’s contribution couldn’t be questioned and said the small forward deserved to be get the AFL Rising Star nomination on the back of Saturday’s Round 22 game.
“His last few weeks have been very good. He is very good overhead for a small forward and I can see why he went so far in the draft,” May said.
The Suns have pointed to the talented group of young players when voicing the reasons behind why they believe Gold Coast isn’t far away from finding on-field success.
May did the same when announcing why he re-signed this year until the end of 2019.
Ainsworth leads the list of young players with his selfless game style, endless work rate and thirst to win every contest even when the Suns have suffered blowout scorelines.
“Some players are born with a really competitive edge,” May said.“Ever since (Ainsworth) came in he wanted to train with the main group when he first got here.
“He was so competitive and he was trying to knock on the door and get in the senior side.
“When we got smashed by
the Giants (in Round 2) he was still chasing down blokes.”
A badly corked quad kept Ainsworth out of the AFL side eight weeks in the first half of the season and while he still has a lot of improvement the gutsy forward said he was happy with his debut season.
“I think there is still room for improvement in terms of my aerobic capacity but I think we are building as a football club and there are some promising times ahead,” Ainsworth said.
“I’m just trying to play my role for the team. I’m doing that to some degree.”
Meanwhile, Michael Voss says the vacant Gold Coast coaching job is irrelevant to him as he helps prepare Port Adelaide for a finals campaign.
The Power assistant coach and ex-Brisbane head coach says the Suns job hasn’t crossed his mind.
“It’s even more irrelevant right now,” he said yesterday.
“We’re at the pointy end of the season and all your energy goes to the team you have got.”