GOLD Coast will not trade midfielders Harley Bennell and Brandon Matera, coach Rodney Eade says.
The pair was banished to the NEAFL last Saturday – along with fellow teammates Trent McKenzie and Danny Stanley – for defying the club’s edict on alcohol consumption.
Eade said Bennell and Matera, who are contracted to the Suns until the end of 2017, were required players beyond this season.
"Both Harley and Brandon are very much part of the future as far as I'm concerned (and) as far as we're concerned," Eade told Fox Footy on Monday night.
“They buy into what we want to produce here and the way we want to go about it.
"We don't want to trade them and we certainly want them here."
The pair, along with McKenzie and Stanley, responded to their demotion in the best possible fashion in the NEAFL.
Bennell amassed 40 touches and booted two goals in a best-on-ground performance against the Sydney Swans reserves.
Matera and McKenzie were also named among the Suns' best with 24 disposals and 18 disposals respectively.
"All three were really engaging at training on Thursday. You could tell by their body language (and) the way they went about it, they accepted their punishment," he said.
"They didn’t have to be best players (in the NEAFL) as long as we were going to rate their attitude … which was exemplary.”
Eade said the club had not yet set a comeback date for captain Gary Ablett, who has been sidelined indefinitely since mid-last month to nurse his troublesome left shoulder.
"I would think it'd be a minimum of two (weeks), could be up to four (weeks) at this stage, so that's really up to Gary," he said.
"Hopefully he can turn that corner pretty quickly."
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