Raging all-night parties after huge losses and a coach filmed urinating against a wall: The boozy warning signs that the $250million Gold Coast Suns are in crisis and could be cut from the AFL
- Gold Coast Suns entered AFL in 2011 and have not aimed up in the eyes of many
- Competing in a traditional rugby league heartland has presented its challenges
- If they continue to struggle, AFL could cut their losses and fold Gold Coast Suns
Trouble and the Gold Coast Suns seems to go hand in hand as the embattled AFL club struggles to win games and avoid scandal.
After entering the competition in 2011, the Suns have been a constant disappointment for the league despite being gifted countless top draft picks.
After the AFL invested a reported $250 million into the battling franchise it is little wonder Gold Coast's future is up in the air.
The club's under-fire leadership was on full display at a house party at Burleigh Waters last Sunday, which raged into the early hours.
Hours earlier, the Suns were comprehensively outplayed by Port Adelaide on home soil, booting just four goals in a 50-point defeat.
A number of players from the Gold Coast Suns (pictured) were spotted out on Saturday night in Burleigh, before kicking on to a house party which raged until Sunday morning
The playing squad is creating more headlines for running amok in pubs than kicking a Sherrin - but aren't the only ones in the firing line.
In September last year, footage emerged of head coach Stuart Dew urinating against a wall outside a Queensland establishment.
The video was filmed by Suns general manager of football Jon Haines, who then circulated the footage to a private group on WhatsApp, which was then widely shared to the general public.
'This is phone footage from two years ago that was unfortunately shared via a private group involving a small number of work colleagues. Everyone involved is embarrassed and regrets what happened,' the Suns said in a statement at the time.
'The club was aware of the video and has cautioned the employees about both the behaviour and the filming and distribution of the vision. It was clearly inappropriate.'
It later emerged no action was taken against Dew or Haines, which other AFL clubs felt was unfair, given ex-Carlton full forward Brendan Fevola was fined $10,000 by the Blues for the same offence a few years earlier.
Gold Coast Suns head coach Stuart Dew (pictured in hat) has a poor record of just 22 per cent after taking over in 2018
Tasmania, which has long demanded its own AFL team, is reportedly threatening to refuse to host any more matches unless progress is made towards this goal.
Commentators have speculated Gold Coast could be cut to make way for a Tassie team unless it dramatically lifts its game.
Suns chairman Tony Cochrane is under fire for calling Tasmania's bid 'insanity', prompting the state's premier Peter Gutwein to ask fans to boo him at this weekend's game.
'When he is here at Blundstone, and I understand he is coming, we as Tasmanians get the opportunity to show him first hand our passion for the game,' Mr Gutwein told state parliament on Thursday.
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'Whilst I understand that the Suns aren't the most successful team... I would make the point that we need to turn up on Saturday.
'There'll be a chance for all Tasmanians to go along to very politely, but very loudly, boo Tony.'
Mr Cochrane also rocked the boat recently when he stated the club needed to recruit experienced players and other elite footballers who have thrived in environments with a proven winning culture.
He went onto acknowledge everyone at the club 'deserves to be under the pump', because collectively the Suns have been below par in multiple areas.
Dew, 41, is unlikely to be at the helm beyond this season.
Talented defender Sam Collins has been one of the Suns' better players in 2021 in what has been a testing season
After 74 games in charge since 2018, his current win-loss record sits at a woeful 22 per cent and he also is said to often react in a negative fashion to constructive criticism.
Further blunders in recent years include not hiring respected welfare managers Craig and Melissa Lambert as well as the exits of assistant coaches Dean Solomon, Nick Malceski and Ashley Prescott due to Covid cuts of 2020.
The departure of the respected trio ripped the heart and soul out of the club, according to the Herald Sun.
The club has also had to deal with numerous instances of player misbehaviour involving illegal drugs, notably cross-code recruit Karmichael Hunt, fallen star Harley Bennell, and emerging forward Brayden Crossley.
This weekend, the 16th-placed Suns travel to Tasmania to take on cellar-dwellers North Melbourne.
A loss to the Kangaroos on Saturday afternoon will be another dagger-blow for the club many pundits tipped to be an eventual AFL premiership force.
The sad reality is the Suns will do well to avoid the wooden spoon in 2021.
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