GOLD Coast will turn its focus back to the untried market after missing out on contracted Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley, with Melbourne assistant Jade Rawlings emerging on Monday as a candidate.
The Suns held the first of their formal interviews in Melbourne last week and it is believed Rawlings, a highly rated Level Four coach, presented to CEO Mark Evans and his selection panel.
Rawlings joins Carlton assistant John Barker and Sydney's Stuart Dew as confirmed candidates for the position, while Adam Kingsley is also understood to be a coach of interest to the Suns.
Rawlings, who played 148 senior games with Hawthorn, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne, has been Melbourne's backline coach since 2012 and spent two seasons as an assistant with the Brisbane Lions (2010-11).
The 39-year-old was Richmond's caretaker coach in 2009 for 11 rounds after Terry Wallace was sacked, and he coached Coburg in the VFL in 2008 and 2009.
Gold Coast's first round of interviews took place last week amid an approach from the Suns to Hinkley's management, but the Power coach on Monday committed to serving his 2018 contract.
That development has forced the Suns, who had also been linked heavily with North Melbourne senior coach Brad Scott, to refocus on those candidates without senior coaching experience.
Barker, 42, remains the hot favourite to win the position after running second to Chris Fagan for the Brisbane Lions' vacancy last year and earning strong reviews in the AFL's Level Four program.
It is believed he was interviewed by Evans and his selection panel last week and had remained committed to seeing the process through, despite the Suns' apparent interest in Hinkley.
Carlton coach Brendon Bolton said on Tuesday, "If (John) gets the opportunity to be a senior coach, we'll back that.
"He's been a great support for me, he's been in the system a long, long time and he has done the level-four (coaching certificate), so all things stack up for him to have an opportunity," Bolton told radio RSN.
The Suns' approach to Hinkley saw Dew pull out of a scheduled interview and temporarily withdraw from the race, but it is understood he will now rejoin the selection process.
Dew was a serious contender for the Essendon and Adelaide positions won by John Worsfold and Don Pyke respectively, and he decided not to apply for the Brisbane Lions vacancy last year.
It is understood the 38-year-old was not willing to go through another full selection process if there was a sense the Suns were working to lure Hinkley away from the Power as their preferred candidate.
Kingsley also emerged as a candidate for the Suns' position on Monday. The 42-year-old was part of the AFL's first Level Four group and was named the AFL's assistant coach of the year in 2015.
A premiership player with Port Adelaide, he has been an assistant with St Kilda since 2011, starting as forwards coach and moving to the midfield.
