Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett says his club should be prepared to part ways with its high draft picks in order to secure established players.
The Suns are set to lose several key players this off-season, with Jaeger O'Meara and Dion Prestia already requesting trades, while Andrew Swallow's future is still uncertain.
Ablett told the Herald Sun that he believes the club should target players in their mid 20s to help propel the Suns to their first finals campaign in its history.
“We’re going to lose a few players, but at the same time, we’re going to be pretty aggressive in the trade period,” Ablett told the Herald Sun.
“We’ve got a lot of high draft picks which we’ll obviously use as trade bait.
“Hopefully we can pick up a few 23, 24-year-olds that have been in the system for five or six years that know all about it, obviously for their experience on and off the field, but also I just think that’d be great for our younger guys.”
Despite the Suns' poor record in 2016 (six wins, 16 losses), the two-time Brownlow Medalist says the club is on the right track.
“We’ve made a lot of changes over the last 12 months and I truly believe that we’re heading in the right direction,” Ablett said.
“And I think next year, we really need to repay the support all our fans have given us, and I think it’s about time we play some finals footy.”