MICHAEL Rischitelli looks set to continue with Gold Coast for another season after finishing eighth in the Suns' best and fairest on Friday night.
The 28-year-old had a one-year contract for 2014 but he had a fine season, playing 21 games and remains an important player for the club.
He has not yet agreed to terms but is believed to be close to a new deal.
He has now played 67 games for Gold Coast in four years and finished third in the Suns' best and fairest in 2011.
Rischitelli joined the Suns after 111 games with the Brisbane Lions, after winning the Lions' 2010 best and fairest.
Rischitelli was raised as possible trade bait in 2009 when Brendan Fevola joined the Lions from Carlton.
He became one of the first uncontracted players to join the Suns.
The midfielder is highly respected at the Suns and captained the team in rounds 17 and 19 this season when Gary Ablett was out injured.
Meanwhile, the Suns will be watching the second semi-final between Geelong and North Melbourne with a vested interest as a Kangaroos win will lift Gold Coast at least one selection earlier in this year's NAB AFL Draft.
The Suns had to activate the compensation pick they received from Geelong in exchange for Josh Caddy (a pick the Cats originally gained for losing Gary Ablett), meaning they will receive a selection one place behind the Cats' first-round pick.
A win to North Melbourne would place the Suns' first two picks in this year's NAB AFL Draft ahead of the Kangaroos, who threaten to be among Gold Coast's fiercest competitors in coming years.
If Geelong loses on Friday night, the Cats will finish fifth on the ladder and have pick No.13 in the NAB AFL Draft, subject to any first-round compensation picks that other clubs may receive for losing free agents.
That would set the Suns' first-round compensation pick at No.14, to go with selection No.7 after they finished 12th.
If Geelong wins, it could finish between first and fourth, meaning the Suns would receive a pick between selection No.16 and No.19, while North Melbourne would take pick No.12.
In normal circumstances, Essendon (seventh) would take pick No.12 but the Bombers will not have a pick until the end of the first round due to their supplement saga penalties.
Gold Coast told the Herald Sun earlier in the season it did not expect Geelong to drop out of the eight when it activated the compensation pick.
The Suns has been proved right but now, at the pointy end of the season, the club is well aware of the draft implications that come with the result of each Geelong game.
Gold Coast used pick No.7 in the 2010 AFL Draft to choose Caddy. He played 24 games for the Suns before being traded to Geelong at the start of 2013.
Caddy, 21, has kicked 21 goals in 33 games with Geelong and is showing promise. He is the grandson of former North Melbourne player, John Reeves, who played in the club's 1950 Grand Final.
