Two more years for no.5 draft pick
GOLD Coast’s No.5 draft pick Mac Andrew says he believes in the bright future of the Suns after signing a new twoyear extension before even playing a senior AFL game.
The Sudanese tall has committed to the Suns until 2025, determined to honour the legacy of his culture in the same manner as Aliir Aliir and teammate Mabior Chol.
A player whose parents fled war-torn South Sudan for Egypt and then Australia is a stunning athletic beast who
was always going to take time to find his feet in the VFL.
But after strong performances as a marking defender a debut isn’t far away for the former Dandenong Stingray.
And the Suns have locked in another key part of their future after signing up Ben King, with talks on Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine heading in the right direction.
Andrew was linked to Melbourne as an NGA star but after roaring up the draft charts the Demons lost his rights when he became a top-20 pick, yet he is more than at home on
the Gold Coast.
“The contract was all finalised in the last week or so, so I am really happy and settling in well with a really good group of boys, so I didn’t think twice,” he said.
“The majority of my family is in Melbourne, if not all of them, so I came up here excited but I didn’t know what to expect. But there are a lot of younger boys and I have a good group of friends. It’s a change of scenery being really hot all the time but I am starting to adapt. The pre-season was tough trying to put
on weight and sweating it off on the track but it’s been great journey.’’
Already the 2021 national draft looks special with Jason Horne-Francis (No.1), Nick Daicos (pick 4) and Josh Rachele making blinding early starts but Andrew will quickly make up for lost time.
In his four VFL games he has already taken on AFL regulars like Sydney’s Sam Reid and Callum Sinclair and is averaging 16 possessions and five marks with plenty of enticing cameos.
For a player who estimates he has played less than 20 AFL games since the start of Covid it is great just to get back into the rhythm of football once more.
“It’s been going up against AFL-listed players. They are fast-paced games and I am playing on that third tall and trying to play to my strengths with intercepting and getting up the ground more,” he said.
“I arrived at 79kg and am 81 or 82kg right now so it’s trying to have enough strength to hold my own but not lose traits like my athleticism and agility.”