Former West Coast and Brisbane defender Brent Staker thinks it will be a disaster if Gold Coast co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May both depart the Suns.
Reports have indicated the club is preparing for Lynch to leave, while the Herald Sun says Collingwood has interest in May.
“It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Staker told SEN’s KB and The Doc, when asked about his thoughts on May leaving.
“I cringe if he is actually considering going, it would be clearly devastating for the Gold Coast Suns Football Club and all their supporters.
“Losing potentially in one year their two bookends, Steven May the glue in defence and Tom Lynch the bright light up forward.
“If they lose both of them in one season, it’s an absolute horror story.
“You then start to think how on earth can the Suns survive.”
AFL great Kevin Bartlett is fearful for the Gold Coast’s mass exodus of players, and thinks the league needs to find a way to increase the rate of player retention at the foundation club.
“How are they going to keep the players up there?” he said.
“I don’t know. The AFL they won't let it fold, they won't let it fail, they don’t want to let it fail.
“They will spend a fortune and somehow they will institute different rules or different players, they will have to do something.
“They’ve got to make Gold Coast a success.”
Listen to Brent Staker's chat with Kevin Bartlett and Terry Wallace on SEN's KB and The Doc in the player below