Melbourne great Garry Lyon says Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew might not ever realise his coaching potential due to constant instability surrounding the club.
It’s been a revolving door at the Suns in recent years, with the club continually suffering setback after setback due to the worrying regularity of key players opting to pursue their careers elsewhere.
Lyon listed some of the players that have left the Suns since 2015, highlighting the enormity of the job in front of Dew to rebuild the embattled expansion club.
“When you talk about the challenge up there: Gary Ablett, Zac Smith, Charlie Dixon, Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia, Harley Bennell, Brandon Matera, Adam Saad, Tom Lynch, Kade Kolodjashnij and it looks like Steven May and maybe even Jack Martin,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“That’s the challenge they have ahead of them up there the Gold Coast.
“Stuart Dew might be the greatest coach the game has ever seen. We’ve just thrown him into the most hostile environment the AFL has ever put together and has seen his best players walk out the door.”
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Western Bulldogs great Bob Murphy says his “heart bleeds” for Dew and believes next season isn’t about the win/loss ratio.
“Its start again time and it’s now not even about whether they can win a game next year, it’s more about identity,” Murphy said.
“It’s more about whoever is here is here to stay, let’s build some dignity in the jumper.
“My heart bleeds for the boys who are left and the coach.
“There needs to be something to tie the rope to, what’s the anchor point?
“It would be great if they could have something who can go: this where we plant the flag into the turf.”
Listen to the best bits of this morning’s edition of SEN Breakfast in the player below