Gold Coast Suns captain Noah Anderson has raised eyebrows with a non-committal response when asked about his long-term future at the club.
Anderson, 25, signed a four-year deal in 2023, tying him to the Suns until the end of 2027. But on Tuesday he was probed on his commitment to the club, which is limping towards the end of a bitterly disappointing season.
“I haven’t even had a second to think about it, so, you know, that’ll come in its due course,” Anderson replied to questions about his contract. “I’ve got, you know, a great relationship with the club and the playing staff, and yeah, I want to see success here really quickly.”
Media not satisfied
But that answer did not really satisfy the Queensland media. “You’d like to stay here long-term, though?” a reporter asked the Victorian-born Anderson again. “Yeah, I mean, like I said, we’ll work through that,” Anderson replied.
Veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson said — on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters — that Anderson’s response “sent a shiver down the Suns’ list management spine”. And AFL great Luke Hodge said: “That wasn’t as confident as what the coaches would have thought.” Channel 7 expert Kane Cornes added: “Non-committal.”
Special assistance package
Anderson was drafted in 2019 with pick 2, and came as part of special assistance rescue package with his good mate, Matt Rowell, who the Suns took with pick 1. The dynamic duo are best friends and played school footy together ... and murmurings of a possible return to Victoria have bubbled away over the past few years.
Anderson did say on Tuesday, however, he loved the club. “This is the place that I have always wanted to be,” he said. “And I feel like I have shown that year-in and year-out, so I have got full faith that moving forward we will have more success.”
Admits doubt and frustration
But he did admit to “moments of doubt and frustration” as the Suns’ 10-game losing streak continues to roll on. Gold Coast haven’t won since May 15 and are out of finals contention after starting the years as a flag contender.
“The spirit of the playing group, while it has taken some hits, has been amazing throughout the second half of the year,” Anderson said. “I have got full faith that both as a playing group and a coaching staff, we’re really trying to get through this tough time. That involves having difficult conversations and challenging conversations but ... we both want us to be a great football club. And of course when you fall short of that quite consistently this year, there’s going to be moments of doubt and frustration.”
Rejects speculation impact
Anderson rejected any on-field impact from speculation about the future of some players. Spearhead Ben King has baulked at signing a fresh contract and reportedly wants to move to Hawthorn and gun utility Bailey Humphrey’s future has also been a talking point.
“Last year, our best player Matt Rowell was out of contract the whole year and we played pretty well,” Anderson said. “When these things (losing streaks) happen, it’s easy to point fingers and say: ‘Oh this is affecting the playing group, they’re not connected’. But this is all part of it and I have got full faith that the players and the football club can handle that maturely and I fully agree that it’s not impacting our performance.”
