Suns in the Media - Part I

[Stroppy]

By far the biggest failure was not committing the $ to the footy department.
Way more important for a young list than the senior coach.

We actually spent less on the footy department than any other club. Utter madness and that is all on the AFL.

We should have had more development coaches than anyone else, more off-field mentors and teachers than anyone else, and more high performance, training and medical staff. Instead we had less of everything and had to change the high performance team every year for the first 4 years.
By a few reports we could have had Neil Balme on board for an extra 50k or so a year and instead we got a rookie in Ashcroft.

We have finally got the $ to outspend every other club on development and off-field mentoring. This year. Finally.

Gee Mr Big Bucks Gillon, wonder why that is? Do you think that is important for a young team in a football frontier? Why wasn't it important 9 years ago?

Gill? Gill? Hello? Oh sorry, you must be composing a long response with no answers. Start with "I am really tall and therefore I get promoted easily."

 

[TheSunGod]

By far the biggest failure was not committing the $ to the footy department.
Way more important for a young list than the senior coach.

We actually spent less on the footy department than any other club. Utter madness and that is all on the AFL.

We should have had more development coaches than anyone else, more off-field mentors and teachers than anyone else, and more high performance, training and medical staff. Instead we had less of everything and had to change the high performance team every year for the first 4 years.
By a few reports we could have had Neil Balme on board for an extra 50k or so a year and instead we got a rookie in Ashcroft.

We have finally got the $ to outspend every other club on development and off-field mentoring. This year. Finally.

Gee Mr Big Bucks Gillon, wonder why that is? Do you think that is important for a young team in a football frontier? Why wasn't it important 9 years ago?

Gill? Gill? Hello? Oh sorry, you must be composing a long response with no answers. Start with "I am really tall and therefore I get promoted easily."

Gil’s salary was probably more than our entire footy department spend back then.
Remember the southern hysteria when it was the plethora of draft picks from the 2011 draft alone that was going to guarantee us multiple premierships? Just get the kids to 50 games and look out!! That was part of Bluey’s blueprint for success if I recall correctly.

 

[CanYouFeelTheSunburn]

Really like Jono's suggestion of us getting the NT zone, there is a lot of elite talent coming out of the NT, extending rookie contracts to 3-4 years and also thought an extra $1 million in salary cap over the next couple of years would come in handy. Hope the AFL administration pulls their finger out and implements some of these measures.

Our situation right now is extremely difficult. We are at crossroads and need to figure out which of the two routes we want to go down: Do we continue to invest in youth and develop players via. the draft only to risk having them leave after their rookie contracts are up (this is part of the reason why we have struggled to build a culture and our club forming/having an identity where outsiders can clearly see what we stand for) or do we try and get older more experienced players such as: Roughead, Gibbs, Puopolo, McVeigh, Thompson just to name a few to try and build some culture and leadership for our club. My only gripe with this is a lot of the experienced players available are in decline in terms of production levels and have already produced their best footy over their careers their output is not the same as it once was. The other concern is that they come here and just cruise for the last 2-3 years of their careers and not put in 110%.

Really difficult to decide what we do but we will leave that in the capable hands of Mark Evans, Tony Cochrane and Stewy Dew and back the club.

We need to remember that bad and hard times never last. We will overcome this. We will be better. We will be a successful side.

 

[SandyToes]

My only gripe with this is a lot of the experienced players available are in decline in terms of production levels and have already produced their best footy over their careers their output is not the same as it once was. The other concern is that they come here and just cruise for the last 2-3 years of their careers and not put in 110%.

Really difficult to decide what we do but we will leave that in the capable hands of Mark Evans, Tony Cochrane and Stewy Dew and back the club.

We need to remember that bad and hard times never last. We will overcome this. We will be better. We will be a successful side.

Yes we have had really bad timing and luck with our mature agers
Other than Ablett what was available to us was low grade compared to what GWS had on offer. a year later
Now we need some star power there's very little on offer
Unlike Ablett May etc I doubt anyone of value is going to break their contracts wanting in to our Club

 

[Suns of Anarchy]

Evans highlighted player retention in the interview.

We need to get academy kids at rock bottom prices. Bowes was a 8-10 pick and we paid exactly that. I think Peel mentioned this idea earlier and it makes sense. Imagine getting him in the 3rd round like Geelong did for their father / sons like Hawkins and Ablett. This enabled them to draft Bartel and Selwood as well.
Free agency should have been 10 years. Players are still 28 and given good service to their clubs. AFLPA are a tail wagging the dog at the moment.
3 year contract for first round draftees. You're paying plenty for them and want a return. If the kids don't want to do that, then they can stay in Victoria and not nominate for the draft in a national game.
Need extra cap space. We have one cap yet there are 10 Victorian teams and there's always 2-3 at any one time in a position to offer large deals to bring home Victorian kids.
I can't stand Eddie McGuire but he said the AFL were insane for introducing free agency at a time they introduced 2 expansion teams from non AFL states.
Free agency has now led to players wanting to leave mid contract and demanding to go to one team, limiting the compo you get in return.

 

[gcsunsfc]

He is such a weak prick.

perfect descriptor.
Seems like he'd cower at a few old grannies yelling at him.

 

[SandyToes]

Free agency should have been 10 years. Players are still 28 and given good service to their clubs. AFLPA are a tail wagging the dog at the moment.
3 year contract for first round draftees. You're paying plenty for them and want a return. If the kids don't want to do that, then they can stay in Victoria and not nominate for the draft in a national game.

There is possibly some interesting thinking around this-but I'm not sure how you could work it so that you still get the best talent into the AFL but provide a super advantage for players willing to enter the draft vs those who just sit back and take the fat wallet from Fat Eddy ,Punt Road and Tullamarine

 

[Camsta]

Wayne Carey ““What if I said they didn’t come in and all of that talent they’ve had over the last seven years went sprinkled among all the other teams. How good would our comp be? It’d be at a much higher level than what it is now and all of that talent would be developing properly at clubs that are already set up”

They are you moron - 90% of them now play for Melbourne clubs after we incubated them to be right for the picking

 

[Suns of Anarchy]

There is possibly some interesting thinking around this-but I'm not sure how you could work it so that you still get the best talent into the AFL but provide a super advantage for players willing to enter the draft vs those who just sit back and take the fat wallet from Fat Eddy ,Punt Road and Tullamarine

If push came to shove those kids would all nominate for the draft and live interstate if they had to.
That's why I think there should be a 3 (even 4) year initial contract for all first round (maybe even 2nd rounders too). Here we are 2/3 of the way through the season and we're worried about the top kids leaving us already (because it's now easy to do). As it stands we had Prestia leave for pick 7. We get someone who isn't at all invested in us and leaves for a late pick.
We lose a co captain for pick 6. We pick up a Victorian kid with that pick and already he's putting extension talks on hold. A draft for the poor clubs and free agency for the top clubs is like mixing oil with water.
2 year contracts for 3rd rounders onwards only.

 

[Cochblocked]

Wayne Carey ““What if I said they didn’t come in and all of that talent they’ve had over the last seven years went sprinkled among all the other teams. How good would our comp be? It’d be at a much higher level than what it is now and all of that talent would be developing properly at clubs that are already set up”

They are you moron - 90% of them now play for Melbourne clubs after we incubated them to be right for the picking

You could make that argument for every expansion. "Oh no don't bring in Carlton and Richmond it'll dilute the quality of talent!" "Imagine if we never went to the AFL how good would the comp be!"

 

[Suns of Anarchy]

You could make that argument for every expansion. "Oh no don't bring in Carlton and Richmond it'll dilute the quality of talent!" "Imagine if we never went to the AFL how good would the comp be!"

Carey fails to mention the $millions that struggling clubs like North received for the interstate licences. It kept a number of Vic clubs afloat.

 

[briztoon]

I believe you need to be able to bring in both mature players and top draftees.

Personally I’d let you keep your first pick, then a second, first round pick at pick 11, plus you get your pick of your academy players, without having to match a bid for them.

You forfeit your other draft picks, and the AFL will compensate opposition teams for any talent you lure north.

This way you can bring in mature talent, without sacrificing your future.

You still need to bring in and develop kids, otherwise you end up with a gap in an age group, and when that gap hits, you bottom out again.

 

[SandyToes]

Wayne Carey ““What if I said they didn’t come in and all of that talent they’ve had over the last seven years went sprinkled among all the other teams. How good would our comp be? It’d be at a much higher level than what it is now and all of that talent would be developing properly at clubs that are already set up”

They are you moron - 90% of them now play for Melbourne clubs after we incubated them to be right for the picking

He's not so bright poor old Duck is he
North just needs to go to Tassie

 

[lionshine]

By far the biggest failure was not committing the $ to the footy department.
Way more important for a young list than the senior coach.

We actually spent less on the footy department than any other club. Utter madness and that is all on the AFL.

We should have had more development coaches than anyone else, more off-field mentors and teachers than anyone else, and more high performance, training and medical staff. Instead we had less of everything and had to change the high performance team every year for the first 4 years.
By a few reports we could have had Neil Balme on board for an extra 50k or so a year and instead we got a rookie in Ashcroft.

We have finally got the $ to outspend every other club on development and off-field mentoring. This year. Finally.

Gee Mr Big Bucks Gillon, wonder why that is? Do you think that is important for a young team in a football frontier? Why wasn't it important 9 years ago?

Gill? Gill? Hello? Oh sorry, you must be composing a long response with no answers. Start with "I am really tall and therefore I get promoted easily."

The AFL should help you guys get those quality off field operators by allowing you guys to spend more on the off field staff. They helped us get Fagan/Noble. They should help you get guys like Simon Lloyd as a GM of Football and some highly regarded assistants such as Brendan Bolton, Matthew Nicks and Blake Caracella.

 

[TheSunGod]

The AFL should help you guys get those quality off field operators by allowing you guys to spend more on the off field staff. They helped us get Fagan/Noble. They should help you get guys like Simon Lloyd as a GM of Football and some highly regarded assistants such as Brendan Bolton, Matthew Nicks and Blake Caracella.

Dew has already made changes and got the people in he wants such as Francou and Drummond. Give them some time. Our problems are more to do with injuries and lack of continuity plus a dearth of capable senior players on the list. The Lions lost kids in the go home 5, the Suns lost senior players like Lynch, May, Ablett, Prestia, O’Cockface. Bolstering our medical / conditioning department to keep our best players on the park should be a priority.
Some huge lucky breaks like getting a Harris Andrews type from our Academy, or a Charlie Cameron wanting to come home, or a Lachie Neale / Lincoln McCarthy buddy combo wanting to come would help too.

 

[Lord_Flashheart]

I don't see how you would set up a club in the right way without great facilities. It's ridiculous. But I know what st kilda never used to have good facilities also until a few years ago.

Whilst correlation doesn't equal causality - your example here is for the Victorian team with the lowest amount of premierships and the highest amount of wooden spoons.

 

[SaadyArmy]

The Mongrel Punt reporting that Gill’s in his last year of contract next year. Boy wouldn’t it be good if it’s his last season in charge


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[kreglze]

The Mongrel Punt reporting that Gill’s in his last year of contract next year. Boy wouldn’t it be good if it’s his last season in charge


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

Except if the next person doesn't see the Suns as a part of the AFL going forward.

 

[Jen2310]

Except if the next person doesn't see the Suns as a part of the AFL going forward.

That's exactly the thought that came into the mind when I saw this comment.

 

[thurls64]

Dew has already made changes and got the people in he wants such as Francou and Drummond. Give them some time. Our problems are more to do with injuries and lack of continuity plus a dearth of capable senior players on the list. The Lions lost kids in the go home 5, the Suns lost senior players like Lynch, May, Ablett, Prestia, O’Cockface. Bolstering our medical / conditioning department to keep our best players on the park should be a priority.
Some huge lucky breaks like getting a Harris Andrews type from our Academy, or a Charlie Cameron wanting to come home, or a Lachie Neale / Lincoln McCarthy buddy combo wanting to come would help too.

Gotta get a genuine elite forward line coach, Prescott is a joke and has never got our forwards doing what the top four clubs do

 

[TheSunGod]

Gotta get a genuine elite forward line coach, Prescott is a joke and has never got our forwards doing what the top four clubs

Maybe. Is this all due to Prescott or to the caliber of players available in our forward line and the midfield’s poor supply?

 

[Iva Bigun]

That's exactly the thought that came into the mind when I saw this comment.

It would likely be Mark Evans so I’m not worried

 

[GcSunsfan]

■Gold Coast would receive AFL assistance, and there were ‘‘a suite of things we need to consider’’ for assisting the Suns. But the AFL was not worried about the Suns’ future.

Hocking said no decision had been made about the nature of the assistance. ‘‘They’ll have to put a submission first,’’ he said.

 

[GcSunsfan]

 

[briztoon]

Why the Suns sent their best ball-winner to their bitter rivals

Michael Whiting looks at the reasons behind Gold Coast's decision to move Jarryd Lyons to Queensland rival Brisbane

www.afl.com.au