Departed Gold Coast midfield-forward James Tsitas is set to remain with the club following his delisting, with the Magarey Medal winner taking on a coaching role at the Suns while still featuring for the club's VFL side.
Tsitas was one of eight players not offered a new deal by the Queensland club following its first season under coach Damien Hardwick, with Sandy Brock,ย Sam Day,ย Oskar Faulkhead,ย Darcy MacPherson,ย Jack Mahony,ย Hewego Paul Oea and Will Rowlands also delisted.
The decision saw Tsitas's three-year span at Carrara come to an end, with his AFL career igniting after a stellar campaign in the SANFL with Woodville-West Torrens.
Tsitas was crowned the best player in the South Australian competition following successive grand final victories with the Eagles to earn attention from the Suns, who recruited the 29-year-old as a Supplemental Selection Period signing ahead of the 2022 season.
Also a one-time best and fairest winner with Geelong's VFL side, Tsitas spent most of his time with Gold Coast in the reserves, playing 48 VFL games to add to his five matches at the top level.
Captain of the Suns' VFL side during their premiership campaign last year, Tsitas unfortunately missed out on the club's 2023 grand final victory through suspension.
His chances of winning a VFL flag with the club remain alive however, with Tsitas to continue at the club in a multi-faceted role.
"I'm going to stay on at the Suns in a coaching role," Tsitas confirmed toย SEN SA.ย
"I'm going to be a tackling coach and work in strength and conditioning. I'm going to play VFL still for there Suns and will be an under-18s assistant coach.
"I've got a meeting on November 5th to go through all of the Academy stuff. I'm looking forward to it."
Tsitas has managed to share his time at the Suns while balancing a side project, founding The Fitness Cheatcode - an online fitness program.
Across 14 VFL matches this year, Tsitas averaged 26.1 disposals, 5.7 takes and 4.2 clearances per game. He would not feature at AFL level under Hardwick, with his most recent appearance coming against Sydney last year as the tactical sub.
