Suns in the Media - Part I

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SunnerSS

GCSUNSCAST HOST
Sep 3, 2016
2,133
2,471
AFL Club
Gold Coast
We don't seem to appreciate the players we really need - those who aren't as pretty, maybe not as fast BUT can get the ball many more times than our little fleet-footed boys. I'm keenly awaiting Marlion Picket's first game in the VFL for Richmond (possibly this week), remembering we could have had him earlier in the draft. Richmond sees things we don't when it comes to grunt and pure aggression backed up with ball getting talent.
I thought it was obvious the suns decided against him due to his offield issues. something the club has been publicly prioritising over talent for the last few years.
 

Peel67skin

Norm Smith Medallist
May 21, 2017
8,387
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I thought it was obvious the suns decided against him due to his offield issues. something the club has been publicly prioritising over talent for the last few years.
He had pretty clean record after he came out of jail. With the problem GCS have you can't actually choose what to prioritise, especially talent. Could end up with 10 GHS but bottom of the ladder.
 

thurls64

Premiership Player
Sep 17, 2014
3,097
4,812
AFL Club
Gold Coast
we could have done worse than Mitch Robinson back in the day when he would have gone anywhere for peanuts, would have been a hard edge we have never had and has been a model prisoner since joining Brisbane
Could have had Brendon Ah Chee at one stage too
Cam Ellis Yolmen may be one we should chase again
 

eppo67

Premiership Player
May 24, 2015
3,348
7,990
AFL Club
Gold Coast
We don't seem to appreciate the players we really need - those who aren't as pretty, maybe not as fast BUT can get the ball many more times than our little fleet-footed boys. I'm keenly awaiting Marlion Picket's first game in the VFL for Richmond (possibly this week), remembering we could have had him earlier in the draft. Richmond sees things we don't when it comes to grunt and pure aggression backed up with ball getting talent.
Not the only one you are spot on others in the staff room wanted him and the Club has gone a bit far wanting 'Model' citizens.
 
Sep 28, 2011
19,388
18,281
Melbourne
AFL Club
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We don't seem to appreciate the players we really need - those who aren't as pretty, maybe not as fast BUT can get the ball many more times than our little fleet-footed boys. I'm keenly awaiting Marlion Picket's first game in the VFL for Richmond (possibly this week), remembering we could have had him earlier in the draft. Richmond sees things we don't when it comes to grunt and pure aggression backed up with ball getting talent.
To be fair to the club A LOT of other clubs also passed on him. We aren't the only ones, lets see how he goes at AFL level before we start cursing the club once again.
 

SunnerSS

GCSUNSCAST HOST
Sep 3, 2016
2,133
2,471
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Gold Coast
I might be wearing rose coloured glasses, but have our players really been any worse in respect to off-field behaviour than other Clubs?
I think the example of daisy Thomas earlier this year shows that it only becomes an issue if the club isn't performing.
 
Apr 12, 2012
45,988
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Come in peace.

Thought this article may interest you guys and girls.



NSW, Queensland clubs push AFL to address 'inequalities'

By Caroline Wilson

July 26, 2019 — 11.44am

Five years after the AFL scrapped the contentious Sydney cost-of-living allowance (COLA) and more than 15 years since Brisbane lost its salary cap benefits to combat the "go-home" factor, the four clubs based outside football's heartland are calling for a radical correction to address their geographical disadvantages.

Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham and his Greater Western Sydney counterpart Tony Shepherd have backed an urgent review by the AFL Commission as they struggle to retain players and staff.
Brisbane Lions chief Greg Swann said he expected north-of-the-Murray club bosses to outline their push at the forthcoming CEO talks early next month.
Giants chief Dave Matthews said the four clubs would unite due to their unique circumstances and has called upon the AFL bosses to travel north to assess the inequalities in their marketing and fixturing, cost of living, player academies and second-tier competitions.
The four club presidents have asked Gillon McLachlan and his chairman Richard Goyder to attend initial discussions before the end of the football year.

The move comes as Gold Coast languishes on the AFL critical list. Amid growing fears the Suns will lose another star in Jack Martin the club is also struggling to re-sign the youthful duo of Ben King and Jack Lukosius and are campaigning for a priority draft pick immediately after pick No.1.
Mindful that COLA has become the most tarnished acronym in the competition, Swans chairman Pridham said the cost-of-living inequalities for the Sydney clubs needed to be urgently addressed "without the industry getting hysterical".

"I think whatever it's called there needs to be allowances in the soft cap and the salary cap," said Pridham. "This has to be addressed. It's the biggest issue in footy and it's come around to this point again."
When asked whether the Swans and the Giants would push to regain their player COLA, Pridham said: "It's dangerous putting labels on things and I know the feeling around COLA but we need to address this without getting hysterical.
"That's why we have an independent commission. All four clubs in the non-traditional states need to sit down with the commission and calmly look at this. Coaches and players want more money to play in the non-traditional states and it's irrefutable that it costs more than 10 per cent extra to live in Sydney.

"There's a whole lot of issues around player and coach retention and there needs to be a review. It's irrefutable to that there needs to be changes."

It's dangerous putting labels on things and I know the feeling around COLA but we need to address this without getting hysterical.
Andrew Pridham, Sydney chairman

Swann said it was beyond dispute footballers living in Sydney faced financial disadvantages due to the heavier living costs. Having overseen an on-field resurrection at the Lions he also spoke of the adjustments which accompanied living outside the football heartland.
"The problem we have is that almost everyone here is from somewhere else," said Swann. "So the club becomes everything, which is not always healthy. There is an outlet in the home-state players to turn to mates or family, which we don't have here."
While Pridham last addressed Sydney's issues with the commission two months ago, Shepherd said: "I've been whinging a lot but now we seriously need to address this. The expansion of the competition is an AFL initiative but now they need to follow their money. If I were them that's what I would be doing.
"The four clubs are talking together now and we can't let this go. Our players talk to their mates in Melbourne and Adelaide and Perth and they are very aware of the sponsorship and marketing opportunities they are missing out on.

"And it's not just players. The football expertise on and off the field comes from the heartland. I'm talking about doctors and conditioning staff and coaches. We have a terrific doctor but he has a background in rugby league not AFL.

I've been whinging a lot but now we seriously need to address this.
Tony Shepherd, GWS chairman

"And we have to pay significantly more than other clubs to bring them here and our players can't negotiate the advertising contracts and ambassadorial rates their counterparts are in Melbourne and Adelaide.
"If we fell out of the eight we would risk some bad years and you look at the Gold Coast's plight at the moment and it's hurting the entire competition. It's damaging attendances and they are seriously struggling to keep players and the competition is going to continue to pillage their list."
Shepherd said the AFL bowed to pressure from the traditional clubs to scrap COLA after Sydney recruited Lance Franklin on a lucrative long-term contract "partly because I think they wanted him to come to us".
Brisbane's retention allowance was removed again due to pressure from the powerful Victorian bloc after the club had won successive flags and recruited Blake Caracella from Essendon. "But then the Lions languished outside the eight for years and they struggled to keep their players and staff," said Shepherd.

The four clubs have a strong ally in the AFL Players' Association, whose boss Paul Marsh described the inequalities in the current system as "a conversation the industry has to have".
"It's complex and maybe it's something we will work towards the next CBA but I'm putting it on the agenda. We're not taking this lightly."
Marsh urged the competition not to view the move "as an anti-Victorian stance. But we have a system based on equalisation. We have a salary cap, a reverse order draft, a soft cap and we need to look at the areas of 'disequalisation'.
"I'm not just talking about the four clubs in New South Wales and Queensland. We're talking about where the grand final is played and about the unfairness of the fixture where the West Australian teams and non-Victorian teams should be prioritised."
Although the WA teams were allotted extra business-class seats for flights to and from their matches in the last collective bargaining agreement, Marsh pointed out strange fixturing decisions such as sending West Coast to country NSW for a pre-season game.

Fresh from a club visit to Greater Western Sydney, where the taxi fare from the airport totalled $160 along with $35 in toll charges, Marsh agreed the marketing and promotional opportunities for players north of the Murray were significantly less than those in the traditional Australian rules states.
Pridham said a middle-ranked Victorian-based player during grand final week had the potential to earn between $10,000 to $20,000 through appearances in Melbourne - an opportunity not available to comparable Queensland and NSW-based players.
 
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Oct 24, 2008
14,766
20,310
Mermaid Beach
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Come in piece.

Thought this article may interest you guys and girls.



NSW, Queensland clubs push AFL to address 'inequalities'

By Caroline Wilson

July 26, 2019 — 11.44am

Five years after the AFL scrapped the contentious Sydney cost-of-living allowance (COLA) and more than 15 years since Brisbane lost its salary cap benefits to combat the "go-home" factor, the four clubs based outside football's heartland are calling for a radical correction to address their geographical disadvantages.

Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham and his Greater Western Sydney counterpart Tony Shepherd have backed an urgent review by the AFL Commission as they struggle to retain players and staff.
Brisbane Lions chief Greg Swann said he expected north-of-the-Murray club bosses to outline their push at the forthcoming CEO talks early next month.
Giants chief Dave Matthews said the four clubs would unite due to their unique circumstances and has called upon the AFL bosses to travel north to assess the inequalities in their marketing and fixturing, cost of living, player academies and second-tier competitions.
The four club presidents have asked Gillon McLachlan and his chairman Richard Goyder to attend initial discussions before the end of the football year.

The move comes as Gold Coast languishes on the AFL critical list. Amid growing fears the Suns will lose another star in Jack Martin the club is also struggling to re-sign the youthful duo of Ben King and Jack Lukosius and are campaigning for a priority draft pick immediately after pick No.1.
Mindful that COLA has become the most tarnished acronym in the competition, Swans chairman Pridham said the cost-of-living inequalities for the Sydney clubs needed to be urgently addressed "without the industry getting hysterical".

"I think whatever it's called there needs to be allowances in the soft cap and the salary cap," said Pridham. "This has to be addressed. It's the biggest issue in footy and it's come around to this point again."
When asked whether the Swans and the Giants would push to regain their player COLA, Pridham said: "It's dangerous putting labels on things and I know the feeling around COLA but we need to address this without getting hysterical.
"That's why we have an independent commission. All four clubs in the non-traditional states need to sit down with the commission and calmly look at this. Coaches and players want more money to play in the non-traditional states and it's irrefutable that it costs more than 10 per cent extra to live in Sydney.

"There's a whole lot of issues around player and coach retention and there needs to be a review. It's irrefutable to that there needs to be changes."

It's dangerous putting labels on things and I know the feeling around COLA but we need to address this without getting hysterical.
Andrew Pridham, Sydney chairman

Swann said it was beyond dispute footballers living in Sydney faced financial disadvantages due to the heavier living costs. Having overseen an on-field resurrection at the Lions he also spoke of the adjustments which accompanied living outside the football heartland.
"The problem we have is that almost everyone here is from somewhere else," said Swann. "So the club becomes everything, which is not always healthy. There is an outlet in the home-state players to turn to mates or family, which we don't have here."
While Pridham last addressed Sydney's issues with the commission two months ago, Shepherd said: "I've been whinging a lot but now we seriously need to address this. The expansion of the competition is an AFL initiative but now they need to follow their money. If I were them that's what I would be doing.
"The four clubs are talking together now and we can't let this go. Our players talk to their mates in Melbourne and Adelaide and Perth and they are very aware of the sponsorship and marketing opportunities they are missing out on.

"And it's not just players. The football expertise on and off the field comes from the heartland. I'm talking about doctors and conditioning staff and coaches. We have a terrific doctor but he has a background in rugby league not AFL.

I've been whinging a lot but now we seriously need to address this.
Tony Shepherd, GWS chairman

"And we have to pay significantly more than other clubs to bring them here and our players can't negotiate the advertising contracts and ambassadorial rates their counterparts are in Melbourne and Adelaide.
"If we fell out of the eight we would risk some bad years and you look at the Gold Coast's plight at the moment and it's hurting the entire competition. It's damaging attendances and they are seriously struggling to keep players and the competition is going to continue to pillage their list."
Shepherd said the AFL bowed to pressure from the traditional clubs to scrap COLA after Sydney recruited Lance Franklin on a lucrative long-term contract "partly because I think they wanted him to come to us".
Brisbane's retention allowance was removed again due to pressure from the powerful Victorian bloc after the club had won successive flags and recruited Blake Caracella from Essendon. "But then the Lions languished outside the eight for years and they struggled to keep their players and staff," said Shepherd.

The four clubs have a strong ally in the AFL Players' Association, whose boss Paul Marsh described the inequalities in the current system as "a conversation the industry has to have".
"It's complex and maybe it's something we will work towards the next CBA but I'm putting it on the agenda. We're not taking this lightly."
Marsh urged the competition not to view the move "as an anti-Victorian stance. But we have a system based on equalisation. We have a salary cap, a reverse order draft, a soft cap and we need to look at the areas of 'disequalisation'.
"I'm not just talking about the four clubs in New South Wales and Queensland. We're talking about where the grand final is played and about the unfairness of the fixture where the West Australian teams and non-Victorian teams should be prioritised."
Although the WA teams were allotted extra business-class seats for flights to and from their matches in the last collective bargaining agreement, Marsh pointed out strange fixturing decisions such as sending West Coast to country NSW for a pre-season game.

Fresh from a club visit to Greater Western Sydney, where the taxi fare from the airport totalled $160 along with $35 in toll charges, Marsh agreed the marketing and promotional opportunities for players north of the Murray were significantly less than those in the traditional Australian rules states.
Pridham said a middle-ranked Victorian-based player during grand final week had the potential to earn between $10,000 to $20,000 through appearances in Melbourne - an opportunity not available to comparable Queensland and NSW-based players.
Finally someone points out the total inadequacy of the northern states ability to keep up with the strong Vic clubs getting money to players outside the cap in sponsorship. If they don’t want to give us more then have the sponsorship go into the cap for the Pies etc, it would cost them 5-6 players
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Finally someone points out the total inadequacy of the northern states ability to keep up with the strong Vic clubs getting money to players outside the cap in sponsorship. If they don’t want to give us more then have the sponsorship go into the cap for the Pies etc, it would cost them 5-6 players
Lots of Visy Ambassadors in Melbourne
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Income directly attributable to a player's status an AFL footballer has to be declared and included in the salary cap
This may mean the overall cap is expanded but it enables Clubs like ours to pay more in traditional salary
 

OB11

Norm Smith Medallist
Feb 4, 2010
6,706
10,351
AFL Club
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Income directly attributable to a player's status an AFL footballer has to be declared and included in the salary cap
This may mean the overall cap is expanded but it enables Clubs like ours to pay more in traditional salary

So Grablett has organised a 'night with Gary Ablett jnr' at the Palms at Crown Casino in October (would be the most boring Q & A of all time). Would this come under the salary cap?

If not then this is the way that high profile players in Melbourne can monetize the fact that they have large engaged supporter bases, as opposed to what the Sun's can offer.
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Yep
And if you don't like it you can go play in the Diamond Valley League with Only Word that Rhymes with Orange
I'm sure high rise construction workers don't like being drug and alcohol tested on the job either
 

Like what he says here.


"The plan has always been to leave contract talks to the end of the season and just focus on football for my first year," the round 19 NAB Rising Star nominee told AFL.com.au on Monday.

"We'll see how that goes, but I'm absolutely loving playing football with these boys and I'm loving the club and everyone involved in the club.

"I can't complain at all."

Also moving into a house with Luko, and starting a commerce degree.
 
Nov 17, 2009
10,327
15,237
Gold Coast
AFL Club
Gold Coast
So thrilled for him
I was watching early NEAFL this year and his ability to read the play and get to contests was special
Great hands and smart he really stood out
Hope he commits
I'm sure he will because there's probably not much point in thinking about leaving until he's 23-24 in his prime
He's hardly likely to get a better contract anywhere else at this stage
Hopefully by then we'll be competitive and he'll stay
Having said that you can only imagine what Fatty Macguire would be throwing at him
 
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GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
May 27, 2013
6,521
8,036
AFL Club
Gold Coast
On footy classified Caroline Wilson said the we will ask at a commission meeting soon for pick 1 and salary cap allowance which could both be allowed. Also we will get in a mentor for Dew with Evans already meeting with Alan Richardson.
Please someone correct me if I'm wrong here but my understanding is GWS are allowed an extra $1 million in salary cap space when compared to us. Retention doesn't seem to be as big of an issue for GWS when you compare their situation to ours and you'd have to think the extra cap space is a big factor in that. Therefore, we should be better off in terms of player retention if the AFL Commission grants us a salary cap allowance to use on these young talented players who will be demanding big coin in the near future. I'm sure there are teams in the AFL who are already willing to offer Ben King a contract worth over $500k a year and we simply won't be able to retain him under our current circumstances. Expect a contract extension announcement for King shortly after the AFL grants us more cap space. It's probably also worth noting that we can't possibly acquire a Lachie Neale type of player through free agency/trades without more cap space.

I think a start of first round pick (selection 1) is a lock for us. Gil was on the Gold Coast on Sunday for the Essendon game and he sat next to Cochrane & Evans the entire match. I'm sure they've already told him what we need/want. You only have to look at the Brisbane Lions Cinderella story this year to see the kind of impact a strong Queensland team can have on the competition. Imagine having two strong QLD teams at the same time!
 
Aug 7, 2013
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Please someone correct me if I'm wrong here but my understanding is GWS are allowed an extra $1 million in salary cap space when compared to us. Retention doesn't seem to be as big of an issue for GWS when you compare their situation to ours and you'd have to think the extra cap space is a big factor in that. Therefore, we should be better off in terms of player retention if the AFL Commission grants us a salary cap allowance to use on these young talented players who will be demanding big coin in the near future. I'm sure there are teams in the AFL who are already willing to offer Ben King a contract worth over $500k a year and we simply won't be able to retain him under our current circumstances. Expect a contract extension announcement for King shortly after the AFL grants us more cap space. It's probably also worth noting that we can't possibly acquire a Lachie Neale type of player through free agency/trades without more cap space.
Initially GWS had extra salary cap & list numbers until 2019.
Due to their success this was cut back by 2 years and ended in 2017 where they're now on the same page as every other club.
I might be wrong.
 
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