WHEN the AFL handed out an assistance package to an on-its-knees Gold Coast late in 2019, the main prize was selection No.1 in that year's upcoming draft.
After claiming the wooden spoon that year, the Suns already held the top pick, which they used on Matt Rowell.
What the assistance package allowed them to do was bundle up selections one and two, which they gleefully used to acquire Rowell's great mate Noah Anderson in a move the club hoped would start a reversal of fortunes from perennial underachiever to consistent finals performer.
Although that has not eventuated just yet, the gift of Anderson has been a slam dunk of success, rubberstamped when the 23-year-old was named as standalone captain last week.
Just over five years after Gold Coast benefited from the assistance package, AFL.com.au thought it was an appropriate time to revisit just what the Suns were given alongside their new captain.
Aside from No.1, the haul included the first pick of the second round in 2019 (No.20), a first-round pick in 2020 (No.11) and the first pick of the second round in 2021 (No.19).
Gold Coast also received expanded Academy access for three years that included Darwin in its zone and allowed it to pre-sign Academy players without having to match bids.
What did all of this lead to in terms of players?
Gold Coast loved the look of the 2019 draft and got to work bringing in talent alongside Rowell and Anderson.
It bundled up that first selection of the second round with another late first-round pick to acquire No.11 from Carlton and select Sam Flanders. After a slow start to his career, it became apparent in 2024 Flanders would be a key long-term piece for the Suns.
In a more contentious move, Gold Coast traded the prized 2020 pick to Geelong in exchange for No.27 that year and landed Jeremy Sharp.
Unlike Flanders, Sharp was delisted and moved to Fremantle via the pre-season supplemental selection period after four years in which he played 23 games.
The last of the draft concessions was used in 2021, when the Suns packaged that pick along with midfielder Will Brodie and sent them to the Dockers for future second and fourth-round selections.
That 2022 second-rounder was then used to get Ben Long, who has played 32 games in his two years at Carrara.
They also prelisted four Academy players during 2019 and 2020 without having to match bids – essentially getting them for free.
The quartet are all still on the list and have had varying levels of success; Connor Budarick and Malcolm Rosas jnr (2019), and Joel Jeffrey and Alex Davies (2020).
Five years on, the surplus of the assistance package has amounted to Anderson, Flanders, Long and the Academy quartet.
Most of their story is yet to be told, but Anderson’s ascension both as a player and leader has ensured it a success no matter which way it's cut.
