ONLINE AT THE BULLETIN Stone the Crows, they did it

Suns young gun flying high after toppling rivals

WHEN he lined up against Adelaide on Sunday, Gold Coast’s Connor Budarick wanted nothing more than to topple the Crows.

The 19-year-old started life as an Adelaide fan in Robe, South Australia before swapping the beaches of the Limestone Coast for the beaches of the Gold Coast at age nine.

When the Suns joined the AFL in 2011, Budarick switched teams. But he must have questioned whether it was a cursed move, given the Suns had lost 13-straight games against Adelaide – until Sunday.

“They had beaten us plenty of times in the past few years, so it was good to take them out,” Budarick said.

Following in teammate Matt Rowell’s footsteps, Budarick became the second Suns player to score an NAB Rising Star nomination in as many weeks. He’s also the first genuine Gold Coast talent to get the nod.

Budarick attended Helensvale State High School and played his junior football for the Labrador Tigers.

He joined the Suns’ academy 12 and made his senior debut for Southport at 16.

Budarick logged 16 disposals and took six marks in his third AFL game in his debut season, playing a relatively new role in defence after spending most of his junior playing days as a midfielder or small forward.

“It’s been good being able to learn different tricks and different positions, adding different strings to my bow,” Budarick said.

“All the hard work that I’ve done over pre-season to strive to be an elite small defender is paying off. But the main part is to keep building every week, keep finding ways to improve.”

A long-time Gold Coast Academy member, Budarick started playing football at under-9s on the Gold Coast and idolised former Suns’ captain Gary Ablett.

“Everyone was a huge Ablett fan,” Budarick said.

“He’s a great of the game and I loved watching him play, whether it was live or on tele.”

While Ablett is no longer at the Suns, some experts say the club are now in their best position since he was in his prime.