Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew.Credit:AFL Photos
Last year an increasingly frustrated head office proposed a northern secondment to its then football frontman Brad Scott,although he has publicly denied he was sounded out for the senior coaching job. The suggestion was that Scott mentor Dew and his assistants,a proposal Scott rejected largely because of the pressure it would place on the senior coach.
Damien Hardwick’s shock mid-season departure from Richmond came at a difficult time for Dew and the club’s fortunes. Evans insisted this week he has not contacted Hardwick,but this does not mean Hardwick has not come into his calculations.
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And that’s how it’s been,unfortunately,for Stuart Dew over the past two seasons. An ongoing series of tangible links to high profile successful coaches that are not simply media driven as the club’s attendances and ratings dwindle and the team falls short.
Evans has repeatedly stated in recent days that his job is to support the coach and that the coach remains contracted until the end of next season. None of the above belies the fact that the hierarchy has become increasingly disenchanted with the coach’s prospects.
None of it belies growing doubts about training standards,match-day preparation and coaching strategy. As Dew himself proclaimed on Wednesday:“I understand the industry looks at performance. We’re a performance industry.”
There is no suggestion the coach has lost the support of the majority of his players,but it is not they who will ultimately make the call. Players want success and the Suns cannot afford to lose another round of elite talent worthy of September. Nor can the club squander the academy riches coming its way.
The decision to stick with McKenna and let Hinkley go back in 2012 was an opportunity lost for Gold Coast. One in a long line for the only club in the competition never to have played finals.
One version of the current state of play is that tough decisions are looming. My view is that the situation has moved further than that.
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