Gold Coast star Touk Miller admits Hugh Greenwood’s departure to North Melbourne is a “major loss” for the club.
Greenwood joined the Kangaroos on a multi-year deal after the Suns delisted the midfielder with the view of re-drafting him later this month.
Gold Coast has been widely criticised for temporarily delisting the 29-year-old to “assist the club's overall list strategy” ahead of the National Draft.
“It was a bit of an interesting one,” Miller told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“We obviously delisted him with full intentions to pick him up in the pre-season draft. The deal that he got from North Melbourne was obviously really strong and hard to let go.
“Talking to Hughy, because he had conversations with the leaders, his view was that where we were heading as a club, our midfield group and where he saw himself, it was going to be a lot harder in years to come.
“The offer he got from North Melbourne was too good to give up. He’s got a young family; he obviously wants to support them for as long as he can.
“But in saying that, Hughy’s another senior player that we won’t have and someone who can play really consistent football, so it was a fair hit to the list.
“It’s a major loss, but I feel like in the footy world, these types of things happen very regularly, so it’s not uncommon.”
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Miller was asked whether he was disappointing in the Suns’ decision to delist Greenwood, who still had two years to run on his contract.
“I’m definitely not disappointed in the club because you always want to stay unified with the club,” the Suns vice-captain said.
“It was ultimately his decision to move on and to obviously get a deal like that is really positive for him, but I wouldn’t say I was dirty on the club or anything like that.
“There’s not too much you can do about it now.
“Hughy’s an absolutely great person and I highly respect him. There’s a lot more factors that he had to put in place to make his decision.”
Greenwood joined the Roos as a delisted free agent, signing a two-year deal with triggers for a third.
Rory Thompson and Jez McLennan were also told they would be re-selected after being moved off the Suns’ primary list.