New Sun Noble admits 2023 Grand Final heartbreak planted the seed for trade request

John Noble has officially made his move to Gold Coast as part of the mega five-player trade between the Suns, Power and Magpies on Tuesday afternoon.

The in-contract Collingwood defender requested a trade to join Damien Hardwick’s side his and wish has been granted.

Noble admitted that the heartbreak of being left out of the Pies’ 2023 Grand Final side was a factor in his decision to depart. He played 23 games in 2023, before being dropped for the finals series.

While Noble says he gave it his all to break back into Collingwood’s best 22 in 2024, the pain of missing out on the flag contributed to his desire for a fresh start.

“It was a tough time (last year’s finals series) to be honest and I probably would be lying if I didn’t say I was in that mindset at the time,” Noble told AFL Trade Radio.

“I think when something like that happens, it does maybe pull you back a little bit and makes you question where your future lies.

“For me, I’ve said before, I felt like I contributed a heavy amount to that success and I certainly felt the love from my teammates, but moving forward there is an element of doubt that can be painted in the back of your head and over time that can develop and that happened at times during this season.

“As interest grows, it is a hard space to live in to be honest and it was a really tough time. As a young kid you dream of playing AFL, but also an AFL Grand Final. That’s what you dream of.

“To fall short of that on a personal level was really tough to be honest and it certainly can plant that doubt and heading into 2024 I trained really hard and tried to put myself in the best position I could to get back this year and that at times didn’t go my way or the way I thought it was going to, hence why it did contribute to my decision.”

Noble admits he met with Hardwick during the season, who sold him on his utilisation at the Suns going forward, adding that it was a tough conversation to have with Collingwood coach Craig McRae.

“There was an element of emotion involved from both end. You put so much into an organisation and those conversations can be difficult,” Noble said.

“Fly was really good with it. Justin Leppitsch and Brendon Bolton were in there too so it was nice to have the conversation with the important people at the club at the time.

“Those conversations can sometimes be difficult, but they have to be had and painting a clear picture about where my best footy is was important to me moving forward.”

Noble played 112 games for the Magpies after being picked up in the 2019 mid-season draft.