Gold Coast enters the 2024 AFL Draft with different intentions compared to their 17 rivals, with their focus on draft points and acquiring Academy prospects.
At least one Suns-tied teenager will land on the club's AFL list, with Gold Coast utilising the trade period to attain experienced talent while making sure they have the required capital to match any early bids.
Their list looks fairly settled for now, while the Suns will weigh up whether they could use their strong 2025 draft hand to trade back into this year's count or stay quiet as they likely need more picks to turn into points in 12 months' time.
Here's how the Suns' draft plans could play out in 2024...
Picks: 39, 41, 51, 61, 70, 76, 78
The Suns have close to 1300 draft points, which is more than enough to match a bid for lead Academy prospect Leonardo Lombard from Pick 8 onwards. The Suns could trade future picks to add more late selections and points to their hand to assist a bid should they believe one could come earlier.
The use of 2025 draft selections, where the Suns hold three first-round picks, could also allow the Queensland club to trade back into the front of the draft queue following a Lombard bid if they see a prospect of great desire.
The Suns could look to swap future selections late into the draft to attain further Academy talent or leftover teenagers they're attracted to should they see them as a chance to be taken before the National Draft concludes or early into the Rookie Draft.
Gold Coast will be mindful of their draft picks and points for 2025, however, with a string of Academy prospects pushing toward the top tier of next year's crop of kids.
Academy Access: The Suns' priority will be to have the needed draft points to match any incoming bids for Academy prospects, with the aforementioned Lombard their No.1 target. A bid could come in the top 10 selections for Lombard, meaning the Suns will lose most of their current hand or potentially go into deficit if it comes earlier than expected.
Small Forwards: Damien Hardwick is lacking ground-level forward threats who can crumb the feet of his tall attackers, with Ben Long being the club's only small forward to kick more than 16 goals in 2024. Malcolm Rosas was almost shown the door this off-season, and Bailey Humphrey is a long-term midfielder, with re-signed half-forward Ben Ainsworth perhaps needing more help when the ball hits the deck in the front half.
Wing Options: Gold Coast seem to have most areas of their squad settled on for the years to come, with star inside midfielders, key position talent and versatile assets sprinkled through. What they may be lacking, however, is some run on the outskirts of their engine room that will complement their main ball winners. A wing or flanker they can add in the back end of the draft or at the rookie intake might be ideal for depth purposes.
Leonardo Lombard: A name many Suns have come to know over the past 18 months, with Lombard making headlines in 2023 as a VFL debutant at the age of 16, with the Broadbeach junior playing a role in the club's premiership run. That came after a stellar bottom-age stint in the Allies' undefeated carnival, with Lombard reaching new heights this year as the Allies' best player, the shared Larke Medal winner and an All-Australian. He played a further eight VFL games in 2024, highlighted with a 22-disposal, three-goal outing against Coburg.
Lachie Gulbin: Another Academy prospect the Suns will have their sights on, with Gulbin a potential Rookie Draft option given his range as a late selection. The 187cm forward kicked three goals in four games in the Talent League while averaging 11.3 disposals, 5.0 marks and 3.3 tackles and would add 10 VFL appearances to his tally, a spell that included a three-goal haul against Richmond's reserves and a role in the Suns' Wildcard Round loss to Frankston. Fellow 2024 Academy prospects Zai Millane and Nelson Beikoff-Smart will also be considered.
Riley Bice: A mature-aged option for the Suns to consider, Bice had a breakout year with VFL premiers Werribee this year as a promising flanker out of defence. He can move up to the wing and flex his run and carry game, which saw him average 21.8 disposals, 6.9 marks, 4.8 rebound 50s, 4.6 intercepts and 4.2 score involvements per game for the 'Bees. Bice earned an invite to the State Combine and could be the next experienced player who finds success at Carrara after ex-Werribee star Sam Clohesy's promising year in Queensland.