Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory

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Jirik13 said:
Agree, usually early in the season and there is a core of 3-4 but over the season 5-7 is a usual. WB used 6 players against us (not counting rucks). GWS used 7 players against Eagles (I bloody love how GWS play, easily the most watchable team for me).

No reason why Rosas, Ainsworth can't run through to mix it up, lessen a load.
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Yeah would like to see ainsworth and rosas at a few centre bounces, also a bit more of Humphrey. Could Anderson or miller be used in the daicos half back role?
 
Don't tell me that Ava Usher has a sister. If Aleria is as good as Ava we won a lottery, haha.
In total, 10 players will hold leadership positions across the Male and Female sides who being their respective Coates Talent League campaigns against the Oakleigh Chargers at home on Saturday, April 27.

The boys side will be led by a six-player group containing Zai Millane, Leo Lombard, Joe Kennedy, Zeke Uwland, Finn Hay and Lachlan Gulbin.

“We have had an excellent pre-season and the development of the players has been very impressive,” Academy U18 Boys Coach Jarrod Cotton said.

“The whole squad is very excited to test themselves against quality opposition in other Academies and in the Coates Talent League.”

The girls’ four-person leadership comprises co-captains Josie McCabe and Mia Salisbury and vice-captains Ava Usher and Aleria Usher.
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www.goldcoastfc.com.au

SUNS Academy confirm 2024 leadership groups

The Streetsmarts Gold Coast SUNS Academy has locked in its Under 18 leadership groups for 2024.
www.goldcoastfc.com.au www.goldcoastfc.com.au
 

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Can anybody name which one is which of these guys, other than obviously Lombard.

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Jirik13 said:
That would be Joe Kennedy then on far left.
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Son of Surfers Paradise/Southport junior and 188-game Bear/Lion Matthew 'Maxy' Kennedy. Maxy spent many years working in our high performance department over the last 15 years (see below). Maxy's father/Joe's grandfather is Des Kennedy who played 56 games for St Kilda. So Joe would be a third generation VFL/AFL footballer if he ends up making it to the top level and is the son of one of the bettter footballers the Gold Coast has produced to date. My understanding is that Joe isn't really on any clubs' radars at the moment so at best we're probably looking at a rookie list situation for him right now but that can obviously change if he has a good year. Would be a feel good story but you can't just draft players for the sake of it. He needs to show something this year.

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Our U18 academy team plays the Swans academy in Blacktown tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm. Looks like AFL NSW/ACT will be streaming the match as well for anyone that's interested in watching. Some pretty interesting names in that team but bottom ager Dylan Patterson on ball/on the wing probably intrigues me the most. Patterson and Lombard could form a deadly combo in the midfield.


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GC2015 said:
Our U18 academy team plays the Swans academy in Blacktown tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm. Looks like AFL NSW/ACT will be streaming the match as well for anyone that's interested in watching. Some pretty interesting names in that team but bottom ager Dylan Patterson on ball/on the wing probably intrigues me the most. Patterson and Lombard could form a deadly combo in the midfield.


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Lockett has to be over-age by now surely?
Must be another one, Jye is 20/21 and playing for Southport
 

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Supersuns said:
Lockett has to be over-age by now surely?
Must be another one, Jye is 20/21 and playing for Southport
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Sun Stormer said:
Taj is Jye's younger brother - big boy!
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Correct. Taj is draft eligible this year. Anyone know how tall he is?

Here is a great post from Jeff White when the U12s South Coast team were victorious at the 2018 Queensland state championships and the team contained five famous footy surnames.




Also, here's the link to today's academy game against the Swans if anyone is looking:

AFLNSWACT

www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
GC2015 said:
Our U18 academy team plays the Swans academy in Blacktown tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm. Looks like AFL NSW/ACT will be streaming the match as well for anyone that's interested in watching. Some pretty interesting names in that team but bottom ager Dylan Patterson on ball/on the wing probably intrigues me the most. Patterson and Lombard could form a deadly combo in the midfield.


eiAa79A.jpg
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AFLNSWACT are going to livestream it on their Facebook page

www.facebook.com

AFLNSWACT | Sydney NSW

AFLNSWACT, Moore Park. 12,968 likes · 1,661 talking about this. AFL NSWACT is the state body that's responsible for the growth and development of Australian Football
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Havana Harris is very likely the best player available in this year's draft class. Will be a huge inclusion for our team with her and Bohanna dominating as the key forwards.

www.instagram.com

Gold Coast Suns Academy on Instagram: "A huge congratulations to our SUNS Academy U18W players Havana Harris and Tara Harrington who represented the AFL National Academy team over the weekend. An extra shoutout to Havana who was awarded the Best on

1,340 likes, 7 comments - goldcoastsunsacademy on April 7, 2024: "A huge congratulations to our SUNS Academy U18W players Havana Harris and Tara Harrington who represented the AFL National Academy team o...".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
GC2015 said:
Havana Harris is very likely the best player available in this year's draft class. Will be a huge inclusion for our team with her and Bohanna dominating as the key forwards.

www.instagram.com

Gold Coast Suns Academy on Instagram: "A huge congratulations to our SUNS Academy U18W players Havana Harris and Tara Harrington who represented the AFL National Academy team over the weekend. An extra shoutout to Havana who was awarded the Best on

1,340 likes, 7 comments - goldcoastsunsacademy on April 7, 2024: "A huge congratulations to our SUNS Academy U18W players Havana Harris and Tara Harrington who represented the AFL National Academy team o...".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
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Brother Jonah is in the Suns Academy - but injured I believe. Big boy.
 
Leo Lombard will play at IKON Park tomorrow for the U18 National Academy team against Coburg at 1pm. This is probably the first real opportunity for everyone to see where Leo stands amongst the best players his age from all parts of the country. Jake Rogers was best on in this game last year and it really set him up for a big season so hopefully we see something similar from Leo tomorrow.

www.afl.com.au

Marsh AFL National Academy Boys to represent Australia this weekend

The 2024 Marsh AFL National Academy Boys squad will don the Australia jumper for the first time this year when they take on VFL outfit Coburg at IKON Park this Saturday, April 13.
www.afl.com.au www.afl.com.au
 
Fascinating read in today's Courier Mail into how we turned things around with our academy over the last five years. The overall message is if you spend the money and dedicate the resources at the grassroots/academy level, then you will reap the benefits at the highest level.

Gold Coast Suns Academy: The meetings, decisions and key players that shaped a development juggernaut​

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THE BEGINNING
The first Suns Academy intake occurred in 2011, with roughly 120 boys across Queensland overseen by a single full-time staff member.

In 2017 the Suns Academy welcomed its first crop of 26 female players, taking the total to just over 200 and overseen by two full-time staff – an Academy manager and head coach. In the span of six years the club had expanded its academy program by one full-time staff member and 90 players.

Academy Manager Jason Torney and head coach Andrew Raines worked tirelessly within a network lacking significant resources that relied on volunteers across the state to help deliver the program.

At the end of 2018, the Gold Coast board made a submission to the AFL to significantly bolster its academy program. To that point the club’s homegrown talent had mostly arrived via the rookie draft, as the program was not well-equipped to identify, develop and produce top-end AFL-ready talent.

Using the Swans’ highly successful academy model as a blueprint, the Suns made a significant financial and material investment, which as of 2024 sits at well above $1m per year and includes eight full-time coaching/admin staff, four part-time North Queensland staff, 10 medical/strength and conditioning staff and 50 volunteer coaches spread across 11 hubs.

The club took sole responsibility for the academy program, which had previously been predominantly run by AFL Queensland and slapped with Suns branding. Academy staff moved into the club’s Carrara base at the Austworld Centre and were properly integrated into day-to-day operations.

By the end of 2019 the club had installed a full-time co-ordinator in North Queensland and the program had grown to above 400 players – almost double the figure only two years earlier.
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THE FUTURE

At the end of 2021 the club made another substantial change to the academy set-up. It took control of the junior pathways, U13s – U15s, which had previously still been run by AFL Queensland.

Academy Manager Kath Newman, U19 Academy Coach Jarrod Cotton and Academy Coordinator Casey Haw were installed and the trio set about reconstructing the program from the ground up.

With the junior grades now also under the club’s eye, talent identification and cultivation could begin even earlier.

By 2022 the male program totalled 962 players – 644 boys and 318 girls – and the club had circled the academy as a long-term investment for both on-field success and community cohesion.

The next move that seriously signalled the Suns’ intent was list boss Craig Cameron’s decision to relocate to the Gold Coast so he could work as close as possible with the academy program.

He is the only list boss in the AFL not based in Melbourne.

“It means I get to understand the talent coming through both the men’s and women’s pathways,” Cameron told this masthead.

“I’m able to build strong relationships with our academy coaches which is really important.

“Last year we took four academy players (in the draft). That’s not going to happen every year, but our aim is to build out the percentage of our list as local talent as much as we can.”

This year the club moved Rhyce Shaw into the newly-created role of Director of Coaching. He now works alongside the academy coaches and within communities at the 11 hubs across Queensland to improve the quality of coaching across the board.

Placing a former AFL senior coach in such a role signalled the seriousness of the Suns’ investment in the academy pathway.

“We could see there was a gap but our coaches were busy coaching the players and didn’t have the time or resources to coach the coaches,” Newman said.

“We decided if we were going to produce better players we had to produce better coaches and that’s where Shawy comes in. I truly believe it’s going to be a game changer for Queensland footy.” “It’s a commitment by us because we think the more you can improve local coaching the better the players are going to be once they get to the academy stage,” Cameron added.

“It’s good for community football but it’s terrific for us as well because when those players come to us they’ll have had more polished coaching.

“Even though participation in Queensland is going through the roof we can’t rely on just numbers meaning we get elite players at the end of it, we have to make sure we keep developing it.”
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The Suns sit within one of the most contested sporting markets in the country. In southeast Queensland every sport imaginable is on the table.

In North Queensland, rugby league boasts a sizeable stranglehold on the junior sporting landscape.

If the AFL wants to compete in that market, it needs the Suns – and Lions – Academy to function and flourish.

“Our club is here to win but it’s also here to expand the game and the more Queensland talent from our zone we can have play for us, the better it is for all those kids deciding which sport to play,” Cameron said.

“This market is so contested in terms of sports available to boys and girls to play. The more that can see the pathway to the AFL the better – and the more chances we’ll have getting first-choice athletes playing our sport.

“Our job is to cherry pick the talent to the AFL and AFLW but we have to make sure it’s there to start with and the only way to do that is for us to roll our sleeves up.”
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