SEN’s Chief Sports Reporter Sam Edmund is expecting Gold Coast to be active in the upcoming trade period.
The Suns have been linked to Bulldog Jason Johannisen and Saint Ben Long in next month’s trade period, while Izak Rankine has requested a trade home to Adelaide.
Outside of Rankine and teammate Brayden Fiorini, no other Sun has been reported to have significant interest in leaving the club.
But as Edmund revealed on SEN’s Crunch Time, the Suns could be “proactive” in opening up some salary cap space.
“I think the Suns are about to pull the trigger on something very proactive,” Edmund said.
“The salary cap threat and the salary dump trade. We’ve had a sprinkling of those in recent times, the Suns and Will Brodie (to Fremantle) only last year, Collingwood and Adam Treloar (to the Western Bulldogs) famously before that, but I think the Suns are about to embark on something.
“They’ve had access to a bigger list due to the concessions and they’ve got the likes of Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson next year, Ben King will roll around next year as well, they need to protect their elite young talent from poachers.”
In a problem that has affected the club since its inception, the Suns have had to overpay talent to stay at the club. As Edmund noted, Brodie was a prime example, with the smooth-moving midfielder and a first-round pick traded to Fremantle last year for the Dockers to take his hefty salary.
The Suns are reportedly keen to not repeat such occurrences in the years down the track, and will look to snap the cycle.
“The challenge for clubs like the Suns, as we’ve seen at the Giants, they’ve had to pay more to keep these players from established clubs in established markets and the cycle, they feel, will only keep repeating,” Edmund continued.
“Hopefully for them (it is) contend, lose players, go to draft (and repeat). The Suns are going to look to snap that in some way, shape, or form I think in this trade period, and it does loom as a really fascinating scenario.”
Edmund was asked by Gerard Whateley: “so, potentially, Suns players who we couldn’t have imagined are on the open market?”
“I think so,” Edmund replied.
“Just because they need to balance the books better. I’m not sure what shape that manifests itself in reality, but it’s certainly a watch.”
“I think we’ll hear more on that shortly.”
High draft picks King and Jack Lukosius extended their contracts at the Suns earlier this year, while fellow young guns Rowell and Anderson are already signed until the end of 2023.