GOLD Coast will be without young gun Jed Walter for the opening round of next season after the first-year forward was hit with a suspension in the VFL.
Walter, who was omitted from the Suns' senior side for their final game of the year, copped a two-game ban for striking Frankston's Sebastian Quirk in the third quarter of Saturday's VFL Wildcard Round match.
The incident was assessed by the VFL Match Review Panel and graded as intentional conduct with low impact and high contact, triggering a two-match suspension.
The Suns entered an early guilty plea, reducing the ban to a one-game sanction.
With Gold Coast's VFL and AFL seasons over, it means the 19-year-old will be unavailable for the Suns' first game of 2025.
Walter, a Gold Coast Academy product, was taken by Gold Coast with pick No.3 in last year's draft.
After a strong summer on the track, Walter was on track to debut in Opening Round before suffering a collarbone injury on the eve of the season. The 195cm spearhead broke into the side in round two and played 14 games in his debut season.
Walter was busy for the Suns on Saturday, kicking two goals.
