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Coach Stuart Dew - Where is the scrutiny?

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Professor Knowall said:
... and Gold Coast will keep Dew for one more year ...
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If they keep Dew for another year and have a similar finish they won’t have a team for anyone to coach the following year. Another bottom 4 finish next year and watch the mass exodus. Suns need to stem the blood loss now and move him on
 
Stabby McGee said:
It’s not Dew (at least not completely). The team has no soul. Never has. It stands for nothing. Gold Coast is a graveyard for teams of every sport and this one should have been buried years ago.
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A second Brisbane team would have been a better choice than Gold Coast.
 
Mr PA said:
A second Brisbane team would have been a better choice than Gold Coast.
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The Gold Coast is just a disaster for every sporting team that has gone there and history tells you this and just ask the NRL for example.

It is full of tourists and most of the locals don’t give a toss about sport or at least enough to warrant solid membership bases etc. Players of all sorts go there in many codes and is a straight out party culture because they are hardly known meaning no bubble to live in with media scrutiny etc and free massively funded lifestyle to just have fun as team success comes 2nd.

Sad as it is players from all codes and various sports just don’t seem to be holding that passion for success when you can just get paid massive dollars to party without a spotlight on you. The ones that do differ from the said narrative are the ones that then ask to be traded out.

Rinse and repeat and you have a failed sporting city and the AFL and Suns are not alone here. Leave the GC as a tourist zone as you are never going to get sustained success in this environment in which the Gold Coast is.
 

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Grand Uncle Horace said:
lol... Carlton is (or was) a tourist zone. That Club aptly next door to the Cemetery has less of a future as a stand alone club than the GoCo.
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You really wasted valuable internet space to post that? For shame. There are starving kids in Africa that desperately needed the bandwidth
 
Stabby McGee said:
You really wasted valuable internet space to post that? For shame. There are starving kids in Africa that desperately needed the bandwidth
Click to expand...

Really? Carlton has long died on the vine. For all you Melbourne centric folk who get stuck in to the GoCo and other teams it is time to cop some bitter medicine.
 
Stabby McGee said:
It’s not Dew (at least not completely). The team has no soul. Never has. It stands for nothing. Gold Coast is a graveyard for teams of every sport and this one should have been buried years ago.
Click to expand...

In the early years I think the Suns were on the right track.

In their debut season 2011 they finished last with 3 wins, but this wasn't unexpected given the young list and the team was making its debut. The team had a bit of second year blues in 2012, starting the season with 14 losses but steadied, and finished second last with 3-19 again. In 2013 the Gold Coast was a much improved outfit, winning a commendable 8 games to finish 13th, and pressing unwary opponents in gallant losing efforts. The young players were coming along nicely, and Gary Ablett Junior won the Brownlow Medal. In 2014 the enthusiastic Suns looked that they would make the finals, spending the first half of the season in the Top 8. Unfortunately, when the team copped a crippling run after a thrilling win over Collingwood mid-season, the team fell away completely and slipped to 12th at season end.

It was here when things went awry. The 2014 team was still very young and the injury run was amazingly bad. Not even master coach Alistair Clarkson could have done anything to prevent the 2014 fade out in this situation. Had the Gold Coast recognized that foundation coach Guy McKenna had done a pretty good job building up this young team, concentrated on stability and getting the players fit and healthy for another crack at the finals in 2015, things might have turned out differently. But Guy McKenna was sacked without much explanation at season's end, and Rodney Eade appointed to the role of senior coach.

Am I saying that if Guy McKenna had remained as Gold Coast coach they would have been the first sporting team from this region to put a nice shiny premiership cup in their trophy cabinet? No not at all. Am I saying Rodney Eade is a bad coach? Again not at all, I think he is a very good coach. But around this time, things went very wrong for the Gold Coast.

Fast forward to Easter Saturday 2015, and the opening round of the season and the Gold Coast are playing Melbourne at the MCG, the Demons another young and developing team. Melbourne jump to an early lead and easily defeat a listless and disinterested Suns team that never looks a ghost of a chance. Viewed in isolation this game might have been one of those days where everything went right for Melbourne and nothing went right for the Gold Coast, but there was just something off about the Suns, something more disconcerting than a simple bad game, and from then onwards things have been a struggle.

I don't know what the solution is. The Gold Coast is a great place, but for some reasons things don't work out for their sports teams in this region.
 
Grand Uncle Horace said:
Really? Carlton has long died on the vine. For all you Melbourne centric folk who get stuck in to the GoCo and other teams it is time to cop some bitter medicine.
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All me? I live in NSW. And I have a huge hate for Carlton.
But that is by the by. This thread has nothing to do with Carlton, so making it whataboutism is not just lame but also depriving Nigerian princes the opportunity to send us money.
So- In your random opinion are GC viable going forward with or without a change of coach?
 
Stabby McGee said:
All me? I live in NSW. And I have a huge hate for Carlton.
But that is by the by. This thread has nothing to do with Carlton, so making it whataboutism is not just lame but also depriving Nigerian princes the opportunity to send us money.
So- In your random opinion are GC viable going forward with or without a change of coach?
Click to expand...

Viable
 
emuboy said:
Fast forward to Easter Saturday 2015, and the opening round of the season and the Gold Coast are playing Melbourne at the MCG, the Demons another young and developing team. Melbourne jump to an early lead and easily defeat a listless and disinterested Suns team that never looks a ghost of a chance. Viewed in isolation this game might have been one of those days where everything went right for Melbourne and nothing went right for the Gold Coast, but there was just something off about the Suns, something more disconcerting than a simple bad game, and from then onwards things have been a struggle.
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We weren’t terrible terrible but the scoreboard flattered us immensely
Grand Uncle Horace said:
Viable
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Why?
 
Stabby McGee said:
We weren’t terrible terrible but the scoreboard flattered us immensely

Why?
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Have a talented team but they have run out of gas. Unless they are again pruned by Vic teams that won't develop their own, have a good pre-season they will be more than competitive next year.
 
They’ve never had the coach they need to take over. McKenna did ok, Eade was yesterday’s man, Dew was a rookie coach. I’m amazed that when Eade when they didn’t go with a proven coach - a Ross Lyon or Brad Scott who knew what they were doing. Ross would do anything for coin don’t forget.
 

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Grand Uncle Horace said:
Have a talented team but they have run out of gas. Unless they are again pruned by Vic teams that won't develop their own, have a good pre-season they will be more than competitive next year.
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Im going to stop talking to you because you don’t watch the same games I do, and you have a mental problem with Victorians.
 
Hawker55 said:
They’ve never had the coach they need to take over. McKenna did ok, Eade was yesterday’s man, Dew was a rookie coach. I’m amazed that when Eade when they didn’t go with a proven coach - a Ross Lyon or Brad Scott who knew what they were doing. Ross would do anything for coin don’t forget.
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Eade was the biggest mistake i dunno why they thought he was a good decision he was way past it and put them back another 5 years.
 
emuboy said:
In the early years I think the Suns were on the right track.

In their debut season 2011 they finished last with 3 wins, but this wasn't unexpected given the young list and the team was making its debut. The team had a bit of second year blues in 2012, starting the season with 14 losses but steadied, and finished second last with 3-19 again. In 2013 the Gold Coast was a much improved outfit, winning a commendable 8 games to finish 13th, and pressing unwary opponents in gallant losing efforts. The young players were coming along nicely, and Gary Ablett Junior won the Brownlow Medal. In 2014 the enthusiastic Suns looked that they would make the finals, spending the first half of the season in the Top 8. Unfortunately, when the team copped a crippling run after a thrilling win over Collingwood mid-season, the team fell away completely and slipped to 12th at season end.
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I disagree.

The club was set up completely incorrectly. Sure, they might've been a chance to get something going if they didn't have those injuries in 2014, but I doubt it.

They completely botched the foundations of the club. I can't even remember who their initial CEO and Chairmen were. Nor who was in charge of their football department - was it Ashcroft?

They didn't have proper facilities. They didn't have a proper academy feeding in quality QLD talent like they might do now. They didn't staff the coaching panel correctly.

And then probably the biggest error of the lot - they simply didn't get the right players in.

It was sad that GWS had to bring a bunch of former high quality leaders in who couldn't play at their previous levels but at least they bought culture. Similarly it was sad that they poached future high quality leader types in Davis, Ward and Scully who were way too young to carry a competitive side. But at the end of it all with a mixture of Sheedy and Choc Williams magic the Giants had a culture.

The Suns senior players:
GAJ - superstar but reluctant leader and eventually reluctant Sun.
Rischitelli - handy enough, a pass.
Harbrow - very handy.

Bock - no comment!
Campbell Brown - maybe ok, maybe. But you need calmer heads around him or he'll mess up, as he did.
Josh Fraser - almost maybe ok, but he was pretty well finished and never seemed like an extrovert type
Nathan Krakouer - lasted 1 year
Jared Brennan - space cadet

The first 3 might be ticks, but the next 5 not so much. Imagine starting a team tomorrow with those 8 guys. Then adding in Karmichael Hunt.

Dew's fighting against years of talented younsters getting overpaid just by being up there. A culture that you rarely get dropped. That winning doesn't really matter. And that eventually you can cut and run. With Witts, Swallow, Touk Miller, Greenwood and Collins they might have at least some guys of character who are going to actually build something that the club can rally around.
 
Please don’t blame the South East Queensland AFL fans. As one of them, I would love to be more enthusiastic about the Suns, as I think many others would also be. But I’m tired of the years of poor performance on field.

Hypothesis: if the Suns had a consistently winning team, say with the same degree of on field success as the GWS Giants, there would be impressive attendance and fan support, and significantly higher game crowds than the GWS Giants have achieved.

I am a Brisbane Lions member, but also as an AFL fan, was a foundational Gold Coast Suns member. I wanted the Suns to succeed. Metricon Stadium is a great boutique stadium, and even though I live in Brisbane there is easy access to Metricon stadium by train and shuttle bus.

I supported the Suns for some time, but the many years of poor on field performance are off putting. Indeed, it is painful to me as an SEQ AFL fan to see how consistently poorly the Suns have performed. To some extent, it is we, the AFL fans here who would support the Suns, who are suffering. Please don't call us 'fickle fans', as the Suns have had many years now to get competitive.

In sum, blame the management of the Gold Coast Suns for the team’s plight, please don’t blame the fans or South East Queensland.
 
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emuboy said:
In the early years I think the Suns were on the right track.

In their debut season 2011 they finished last with 3 wins, but this wasn't unexpected given the young list and the team was making its debut. The team had a bit of second year blues in 2012, starting the season with 14 losses but steadied, and finished second last with 3-19 again. In 2013 the Gold Coast was a much improved outfit, winning a commendable 8 games to finish 13th, and pressing unwary opponents in gallant losing efforts. The young players were coming along nicely, and Gary Ablett Junior won the Brownlow Medal. In 2014 the enthusiastic Suns looked that they would make the finals, spending the first half of the season in the Top 8. Unfortunately, when the team copped a crippling run after a thrilling win over Collingwood mid-season, the team fell away completely and slipped to 12th at season end.

It was here when things went awry. The 2014 team was still very young and the injury run was amazingly bad. Not even master coach Alistair Clarkson could have done anything to prevent the 2014 fade out in this situation. Had the Gold Coast recognized that foundation coach Guy McKenna had done a pretty good job building up this young team, concentrated on stability and getting the players fit and healthy for another crack at the finals in 2015, things might have turned out differently. But Guy McKenna was sacked without much explanation at season's end, and Rodney Eade appointed to the role of senior coach.

Am I saying that if Guy McKenna had remained as Gold Coast coach they would have been the first sporting team from this region to put a nice shiny premiership cup in their trophy cabinet? No not at all. Am I saying Rodney Eade is a bad coach? Again not at all, I think he is a very good coach. But around this time, things went very wrong for the Gold Coast.

Fast forward to Easter Saturday 2015, and the opening round of the season and the Gold Coast are playing Melbourne at the MCG, the Demons another young and developing team. Melbourne jump to an early lead and easily defeat a listless and disinterested Suns team that never looks a ghost of a chance. Viewed in isolation this game might have been one of those days where everything went right for Melbourne and nothing went right for the Gold Coast, but there was just something off about the Suns, something more disconcerting than a simple bad game, and from then onwards things have been a struggle.

I don't know what the solution is. The Gold Coast is a great place, but for some reasons things don't work out for their sports teams in this region.
Click to expand...

I agree, the early days were easy, no expectations. Same for most coaches who take over a bottom side. Is eight wins to 12 in a season the hardest to progress past?
 
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I think the current Suns team will rise extremely quickly, impressed with a lot of their side. The culture will come. 2020-21 has been relatively improved, the long helpless spells are gone, more belief away, and the talent they've been recruiting recently feels more purposeful.

Felt like an end of an era yesterday with Harbrow retiring. Still have a few inaugural draftees, but the foundation trade-ins are all gone now.

By the way, Marvel is the only ground I like without a crowd. The look under the roof with the light and Suns look great down there in their blue kit.
 

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Roobs321 said:
I think the current Suns team will rise extremely quickly, impressed with a lot of their side. The culture will come. 2020-21 has been relatively improved, the long helpless spells are gone, more belief away, and the talent they've been recruiting recently feels more purposeful.

Felt like an end of an era yesterday with Harbrow retiring. Still have a few inaugural draftees, but the foundation trade-ins are all gone now.

By the way, Marvel is the only ground I like without a crowd. The look under the roof with the light and Suns look great down there in their blue kit.
Click to expand...
Retention a HUGE problem.
If King or Luko leave then its back to square one.
 

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Coach Stuart Dew - Where is the scrutiny?

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