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Sunny Lappin could\u2019ve nominated Carlton or St Kilda.<\/p>\n
Instead, all aforementioned players not only pursued an AFL and AFLW career, they also stuck with the Gold Coast Suns.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the power and influence of the club\u2019s academy.<\/p>\n
Fans who haven\u2019t followed this year\u2019s AFL and AFLW draft crops too closely will likely get a jarring shock when they see how many club-tied players are taken early \u2013 especially Suns academy prospects.<\/p>\n
Yes, tweaks probably need to be made to the AFL draft bidding system to ensure clubs with academies pay a fairer price to secure their top talent. And you\u2019ll see a glimpse of that at Wednesday night\u2019s national draft with a new, stricter Draft Value Index (DVI) now in place.<\/p>\n
The Gold Coast Suns 2025 Under 18 leadership group: Jai Murray, Max Hudson, Beau Addinsall, Matthew Hoy, Cooper Collins, and Zeke Uwland (men) and Annabelle Foat, Ava Usher, Bronte Parker, Aasha Elliott, Sienna Burnham and Georja Davies (women). Picture: Gold Coast SunsSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
But the big picture perspective is important.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for the growth of the game, you need these local stars to come through and help promote your game,\u201d triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown told foxfooty.com.au last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose (northern) academies are really important and strong \u2026 You can understand why clubs are blowing up about it and the AFL potentially will limit it, but it\u2019s very important to grow the draft pool Australia-wide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018WE\u2019RE HERE TO COMPETE\u2019<\/p>\n
If it wasn\u2019t for the Suns\u2019 academy pathway and program, these top-end 2025 draft prospects from Queensland could\u2019ve been lost to other sports.<\/p>\n
Not only that, they enter the AFL and AFLW systems, essentially, as second-year players, for a prospect\u2019s draft campaign often looks like the first year of professional footballer life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t thank them enough, I wouldn\u2019t be here without them (the Suns academy),\u201d Uwland told foxfooty.com.au\u2019s Dylan Bolch. \u201cFooty was such a minority sport in Queensland growing up, so to have their support and the pathway they provide to the AFL, it holds us in great stead to choose football instead of another sport like rugby league.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I would\u2019ve played cricket. We always had a passion for footy but if there\u2019s no pathway, you lose interest and get caught up in other sports where there\u2019s greater opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all the chat around the Academies, you\u2019ve got to remember what they\u2019re really there for. It\u2019s not to make Gold Coast or Brisbane the best side ever, it\u2019s to help our pathways and make Queensland a football state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zeke Uwland during a Gold Coast Suns AFL training session. Picture: Chris Hyde\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Patterson added: \u201cI think no one sort of really understands the fact that we\u2019re actually here to compete and that we\u2019re not just another group of teenagers. Like, we\u2019re actually here to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have talent and the more people that choose footy in the Gold Coast is just going to provide more talent to the AFL system up north. Realistically, people might look down a bit on the northern academies and stuff like that, but it\u2019s only improving the game. It\u2019s enjoyable to see people around you work hard and get the reward from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several rival clubs, too, could benefit from the Suns academy\u2019s work this season.<\/p>\n
While the Suns are expected to match early bids on both Uwland and Patterson on Wednesday night, there\u2019s a good chance the club won\u2019t have enough points to secure one of midfield trio Jai Murray, Koby Coulson or, most likely, Beau Addinsall.<\/p>\n
From an AFLW perspective, the Suns could have at least seven \u2013 possibly a few more \u2013 academy graduates to choose from, including Usher, Lappin, Georja Davies, Dekota Baron, Alannah Welsh, Rhianna Ingram and Mikayla Nurse. The first five players could all be in the first-round mix.<\/p>\n
The Suns can use draft points to match bids on their top boys prospects later this week. Next month, their AFLW list management team must match a bid with a selection within 18 picks on the night \u2013 a task that\u2019ll be made easier this year with AFLW teams now able to trade future picks.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s almost certain a few Gold Coast prospects could slip to another club.<\/p>\n
SOUTHERN QLD PRODUCING AUSTRALIA\u2019S \u2018BEST ATHLETES\u2019<\/p>\n
And Brown, who splits his time in-AFL season between Melbourne and south-east Queensland, believes it\u2019ll only enhance the footy landscape.<\/p>\n
Beau Addinsall of the Gold Coast Suns Academy. Picture: Craig Dooley\/AFL PhotosSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cI just see the kids and the amount of sport they\u2019re playing, growing up on beaches \u2026 the best athletes, in my mind, growing up as kids are those from south-east Queensland \u2013 especially the ones that grow up around the beaches. They just play so many different sports and got access to the beaches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more talent you can acquire from 12 or 13 years old where they\u2019re preferring footy over other sports, that\u2019s just great for the whole competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patterson, a powerful and explosive half-back\/wing prospect who\u2019s expected to attract a bid from Richmond on Wednesday night, echoed Brown\u2019s sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike my best mate, for example, is a soccer player and one of my other mates is a rugby league player. My school, for example, AFL is not even the biggest sport at our school \u2013 and I haven\u2019t been at Palm Beach-Currumbin and lost a game of football,\u201d Patterson told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cRugby league top-tier, touch football \u2013 pretty much everything. The Gold Coast is very good, especially in the schools, they\u2019re bringing a lot more sport to it and it\u2019s just become a lot bigger. Hopefully the AFL picks up a bit more in the school system, but it\u2019s just growing everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many athletes coming from here, even to the NFL \u2026 you don\u2019t just get that every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Usher \u2013 a quick, powerful midfielder who\u2019d be in Pick 1 AFLW draft mix \u2013 \u201c100 per cent\u201d agreed with Brown.<\/p>\n
Ava Usher is a multi-sport star.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opportunity we get on the Gold Coast specifically \u2013 but also Queensland in general \u2013 will actually surprise a lot of people,\u201d she told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot being a footy state, it\u2019s pretty cool to see how many girls we have this year coming through this year and next year and the years to come and previous years. But we are really strong coming out of Queensland in every sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
GROWING UP TOGETHER<\/p>\n
A northern academy member\u2019s journey usually officially begins around the time when they\u2019re transitioning from primary school to secondary school.<\/p>\n
Some stick around for a few years then move on. Others see if through right up until their draft year.<\/p>\n
It means the club\u2019s most \u2018draftable\u2019 academy prospects, who grew up playing with and against each other at various levels, end up having close bonds with each other.<\/p>\n
When Patterson sees the Suns take Leo Lombard last year \u2013 12 months after Gold Coast matched bids on all of Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers and Will Graham in the first round \u2013 it makes the transition from academy life to full-time AFL life smoother and more exciting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely pretty exciting,\u201d Patterson said of the 2023 Suns crop.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously with Leo Lombard last year again, it keeps adding a little bit more to the system. You think that in a few more years, there\u2019s going to be a few more picks. You just hope that it just keeps on that incline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will Graham, Ethan Read, Jed Walter and Jake Rogers. Picture: Daniel Pockett\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Usher, who joined the academy when she was 12 years old, is best friends with Havana Harris \u2013 the second prospect taken in the 2024 AFLW draft. Harris made a splash in her debut season, kicking a team-high 11 goals from a full 12 games.<\/p>\n
Usher couldn\u2019t have been prouder of Harris \u2013 and more excited to hopefully play alongside her next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to see. With \u2018Hav\u2019 being my literal best friend, I\u2019m so happy for her and I knew she would go straight into the league and dominate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see they were in our shoes this time last year is pretty cool. I\u2019ve made some lifelong friends with those girls. I\u2019ve played with them since I was 12 and then as a double bottom-age player as a 15-year-old, 16-year-old and 17-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching them grow and develop and blossom into the players they are now, as first-year players, is pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lappin played with Harris, as well as fellow academy-to-AFLW Suns like Kiara Bischer, Sienna McMullen, Nyalli Milne, Tara Harrington and Heidi Talbot during her junior career.<\/p>\n
She said she had gotten a real kick out of watching her former teammates represent the Suns at the top level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so cool, especially with the way the game is going and the way that there\u2019s girls who have played footy from a very young age. Like, they grew up with it essentially,\u201d Lappin told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
Sunny Lappin of the Gold Coast Suns Academy. Picture: Craig Dooley\/AFL PhotosSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s getting into a place where you can see all these first-year players are doing things that the game hasn\u2019t seen before because they\u2019ve got this background in the sport that a lot of the other W players don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where you\u2019re watching people that I\u2019ve known for a very long time, they\u2019re getting drafted \u2013 and now it\u2019s suddenly like my turn to try and do that.<\/p>\n
EASIER TRANSITION<\/p>\n
Lappin for months had been weighing up whether to nominate as a Suns academy prospect or choose either Carlton or St Kilda under the father-daughter rule as her dad, 2004 All-Australian Matthew Lappin, played for both clubs during his 14-season AFL career.<\/p>\n
But Lappin, who looms as a top-10 selection in this year\u2019s AFLW draft, chose the Suns because she thought she\u2019d play her best footy at the top level if she remained on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a huge decision to make and lots to consider \u2013 a big one was family and friends and the idea of moving interstate. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d play as good of footy if I was somewhere else other than where all my favourite people are,\u201d Lappin said.<\/p>\n
Lappin also said the prospect of playing under academy coach Rhyce Shaw at AFLW level as well played a significant role in her decision, adding: \u201cI think that he\u2019s building something special at the Gold Coast Suns and that\u2019s something I\u2019d really love to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rhyce Shaw, Senior Coach of the Suns, embraces Charlotte Wilson. Picture: James Wiltshire\/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Usher, too, has a close bond with Shaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s also been like a role model for me through my ACL (injury rehab). He\u2019s done two in his lifetime and he\u2019s taught me a bit of patience throughout the journey,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an unbelievable coach \u2026 The way he thinks about things and puts it into action is actually so amazing. The way he gets around the girls, whether it\u2019s in our control or out of our control, it\u2019s on us still.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018HOPEFULLY SEE A CUP SOON\u2019<\/p>\n
Prospects like Uwland and Patterson will be joining the Suns\u2019 AFL program at an exciting time.<\/p>\n
Under coach Damien Hardwick, Gold Coast broke through for its maiden finals campaign \u2013 and made it to the semi-final stage after a thrilling elimination final triumph over Fremantle in Perth.<\/p>\n
And you sense the Suns\u2019 flag credentials aren\u2019t diminishing anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe success (of the Suns) this year was unreal and I can only think it\u2019s going to go up from here,\u201d Patterson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful spot to live, so you\u2019d think a few people wouldn\u2019t mind heading towards that direction and hopefully see a cup getting picked up soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Suns\u2019 AFLW team, meanwhile, is in the middle of a rebuild, finishing 18th this year after a 17th-place finish in 2024. They had one of the youngest and least-experienced lists in the competition in 2025.<\/p>\n
Blues backing youth against Lions | 01:26<\/p>\n
But the foundation of the rebuild is the draft and their academy prospects.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a more exciting thing, to be honest,\u201d usher said of the prospect of possibly joining a young Suns list.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery team\u2019s got their experienced players and their girls who have played in the league for nine to 10 years. But the young, fresh legs I think is something that\u2019s going to work really well if I end up at the Suns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve played with those girls since I was 12, so the connection we\u2019ve already got and built wouldn\u2019t be too bad, I don\u2019t think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever your take on the Suns academy program and set-up, it\u2019s working wonders.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see it\u2019s starting to become a bit more of a footy state over time,\u201d Patterson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRealistically, more people I know are getting around it, people I don\u2019t know are getting around it \u2013 just because of the pure fact that their mates are making it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know people might not pay attention to the Gold Coast, but it\u2019s good to see that the Gold Coast is sort of starting to finally realise footy might be a bit bigger than they thought it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dylan Patterson of the Allies. Picture: Rob Lawson\/AFL PhotosSource: Herald Sun<\/p>\n
A WORD ON THE TOP SUNS AFL ACADEMY PROSPECTS<\/p>\n
Patterson on Zeke Uwland: \u201cHe\u2019s definitely a talent. He can do stuff no one really can do, he\u2019s a bit of a freak. Wherever he goes, he\u2019ll end up finding a way into a team and give them an edge. Yeah, I do (think the Errol Gulden comparison is appropriate). Obviously a left-footer, a bit shorter but can kick the footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patterson on Jai Murray: \u201cHe\u2019s definitely a hard-worker. Pretty much every time I\u2019m at the Suns he\u2019s there as well \u2013 and probably a bit longer than me. He\u2019s been a bit stiff with all the injuries, but he\u2019s a talent and he\u2019s definitely put on a bit of size after getting injured. When he gets a chance to play again, I feel like it might be a bit hard to stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patterson on Koby Coulson: \u201cI\u2019ve grown up with him and I\u2019ve seen the hard work he\u2019s done \u2013 and I think clubs are going to recognise that. The fact he\u2019s been able to put it into practice this year and prove himself, I think he deserves a Round 1 pick just as much as anyone else. He made All-Australian and you can\u2019t take that away from him because he\u2019s had such a good year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dekota Baron, Chloe Gaunt, Georja Davies and Sunny Lappin of the Under 16s Gold Coast Suns Academy in 2022. Picture: Albert Perez\/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
TOP SUNS AFLW ACADEMY PROSPECTS<\/p>\n
Usher on Georja Davies: \u201cShe\u2019s a very exciting player. During the national champs, she got chucked through half-back a little bit. Shows her ruck capabilities as well, but across half-back takes some really great intercept marks. You could put her anywhere on the ground and she wouldn\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lappin on Dekota Baron: \u201cI think that there\u2019s something insane about the way that she plays. I see some of the stuff that she does and I think with the right coaching and the right environment, she could do absolutely incredible things. The way she flies for the ball, the way she sees the footy in the air and is prepared to jump on anybody\u2019s heads is so incredible. I think that\u2019s something not a lot of girls in the AFLW are doing now. I think she could be a real impactful player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lappin on Rhianna Ingram: \u201cI\u2019ve played with her for a couple of years now and I think this year when she got moved into that half-back role is when I started to see stuff \u2026 I think she wouldn\u2019t know it, but I think she\u2019s a very smart player and I think her skills are really good. The biggest thing is I think she works so much harder than most of the people that I know. I\u2019ve seen her this year grow from someone who you probably wouldn\u2019t know last year to this year, she\u2019s up in conversations and she\u2019s coming to these things. I rate her a lot, she\u2019s a very talented footballer and I would love to see her career and how it pans out for her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dylan Patterson was being touted as a future star rugby league full-back. Zeke Uwland was contemplating a cricket…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[168418,168413,168416,54604,33319,168431,168420,3486,63,689,3423,167865,3237,168409,9124,161134,93797,117297,168422,14385,3499,24320,168430,166599,168429,3451,168412,168434,168424,24304,155119,168410,168405,102513,168425,10145,139527,2105,2485,9130,52780,43,168437,168436,12188,3470,49807,3255,28961,49799,131086,131716,168427,647,168415,9139,44,168404,677,46,168408,120001,701,168417,117755,168419,2528,168423,159,168432,168414,168406,97427,168411,168428,102489,1122,168435,168421,78878,95641,168426,15702,41,39,168433,42,40,660,3439,168407,17939],"class_list":["post-293156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-aasha-elliott","tag-academy-life","tag-academy-pathway","tag-academy-program","tag-academy-prospects","tag-afl-academy","tag-aflw-academy","tag-albert-perez","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-blues-backing-youth","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-bronte-parker","tag-chris-hyde","tag-cooper-collins","tag-craig-dooley","tag-cricket-career","tag-cup-getting","tag-damien-hardwick","tag-daniel-pockett","tag-debut-season","tag-double-bottom-age-player","tag-draft-bidding-system","tag-draft-crops","tag-dylan-patterson","tag-embraces-charlotte-wilson","tag-explosive-half-back-wing-prospect","tag-first-year-players","tag-flag-credentials","tag-football-state","tag-footy-factory","tag-footy-factory-stole","tag-footy-landscape","tag-footy-state","tag-garry-lyon","tag-georja-davies","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-havana-harris","tag-headlines","tag-heidi-talbot","tag-injury-rehab","tag-intercept-marks","tag-jai-murray","tag-jake-rogers","tag-leadership-group","tag-lion-jonathan-brown","tag-maiden-finals-campaign","tag-management-team","tag-match-bids","tag-max-hudson","tag-melbourne","tag-midfield-trio","tag-national-football-league","tag-news","tag-northern-academy-member","tag-oceania","tag-perth","tag-picture-perspective","tag-professional-footballer-life","tag-queensland","tag-rhianna-ingram","tag-rhyce-shaw","tag-right-coaching","tag-rival-clubs","tag-ruck-capabilities","tag-rugby-league","tag-rugby-league-full-back","tag-rugby-league-player","tag-school-system","tag-semi-final-stage","tag-sienna-burnham","tag-sienna-mcmullen","tag-soccer-player","tag-st-kilda","tag-star-rugby-league","tag-surf-lifesaving","tag-talented-footballer","tag-thrilling-elimination-final","tag-top-boys-prospects","tag-top-level","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-top-suns","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-victoria","tag-western-australia","tag-will-graham","tag-young-age"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}