New Gold Coast Sun Charlie Constable believes the Geelong coaching staff didn't see a place for him in the side, forcing him to look elsewhere for opportunities.
Constable departed the Cats after just 12 games with the big-bodied midfielder struggling to break into a very deep Geelong midfield.
The departure of Hugh greenwood from the Suns opened up a spot that Constable believes he can fill at Gold coast.
Constable also said that his dealings with Stuart Dew in the lead up to the draft has him excited for what is to come in the future for the Suns.
โIโve met with him (Dew) over zoom and had a few phone calls with him and he seems really excited to have me up there,โ he told SEN's Dwayne's World.
โFrom my dealings so far, heโs been a ripping bloke to me and itโs pretty clear that if I train well and play well there could be opportunities for me.
โI think the departure (of Greenwood) definitely helped me and hopefully it also leaves a little hole that Iโll perhaps be able to fill.
โBut in saying that, I think the Suns still have a really strong midfield, so Iโve got to train and play well and force my way into the footy side.โ
The 22-year-old was selected with pick 63 in the National Draft by the Suns after the Cats delisted Constable to allow him to search for greater opportunities.
Constable said that while he loved his time at the Cats he didn't believe he had the backing of the coaches to lock down a spot in the midfield.
โI absolutely loved my time at Geelong, itโs an unbelievable football club and everyone there are great people, but obviously I found it a bit hard to break in and keep my spot, I think theyโve got a pretty strong midfield down there,โ he said.
โBut I think I developed as a player and as a person, so Iโm very thankful for that.
โBut obviously at times itโs a little bit frustrating, I couldnโt get on the park as much as I would have liked, but thatโs sometimes the way it goes.
โโScottyโ (Chris Scott) was really good to me, nice and open, I think probably the thing that hurt me a lot was probably the other players they had playing in there, the coaching staff probably didnโt think I could fit into that system every week.
โAnd when thatโs the feedback, itโs a little bit hard to know what to work on and how to break in.
โBut yet again, it was a pretty tough midfield to push people out of.โ
Speaking after drafting Constable, Suns National Recruiting Manager Kall Burns said the club was keen to add the ball-winners attributes to a developing midfield group.
โWe have continued to track Charlieโs progress since being drafted to Geelong in 2017,โ Burns said.
โHe has shown his consistency at VFL level and with limited opportunity at AFL level in a strong midfield group at Geelong, he has demonstrated his ability to play at the top level when given the chance.
โCharlie is a strong ball-winner with great physicality and at 191cm he will complement our existing mix of midfielders well.
โCharlie has been in a successful system for a number of years so weโre really excited about what he can bring to the group and expect he will be able to hit the ground running.โ
