For 7-year-old Kyan Sellings, rejecting a highly-anticipated holiday visit to a theme park to avoid missing out on the last leg of Gary Ablett’s Brownlow Medal tour was a no-brainer.
“It was so cool and I can’t believe I got to see it up close,” an excited Kyan told goldcoastfc.com.au.
Waiting patiently since 6am outside the Metricon Stadium Gates, Kyan and father Jay quickly ditched plans to spend the day in the theme park in favour of getting up closed and personal with Gary’s glorious Brownlow medal and the NAB AFL Rising Star trophy won by Jaeger O’Meara.
Displayed behind velvet ropes and mounted on a wooden frame, Kyan was in awe of the AFL’s most prestigious individual accolade and said he hoped to one day to have his own “Charlie” on show for family and friends to see.
“It really is a special award,” he said.
After being given a private tour of the Metricon Stadium facility Kyan’s father Jay said it had been an overwhelming morning for his AFL mad son.
“We got the text last night saying to come down to the Club for the final stop of Gold Coast’s Brownlow Medal tour, and thank goodness we did, it was really good to see,” Jay said.
A die-hard Collingwood supporter, Jay said Kayn’s allegiance quickly changed to the Gold Coast after watching his favourite player Brandon Matera light up the crowd with his bag of tricks and magical goal-kicking during a match at Etihad Stadium.
“Brandon Matera is his favourite Gold Coast SUNS player and does his best to replicate him in his local footy team.”
Similar to Kyan and Jay, hundreds of local and national sporting fans flocked to Southport, Surfers Paradise and Palm Beach this week to catch a glimpse of the coveted Brownlow.
GC SUNS General Manager of Marketing, Membership and Community – Kelly Ryan, said the city-wide tour had been a major success with its passionate membership and fan support.
“It has been an outstanding week with the whole Gold Coast community embracing the opportunity to see two of the AFL’s most converted awards up close and personal,” Ryan said.
“The support from our members and fans has been phenomenal and we have also provided a unique AFL experience for many of the Coast’s tourists during this school holiday period as we showcased the awards around the suburbs of the Gold Coast.”
Broadcasting live from each of the four venues, Ryan said the Club’s foundation radio partner 102.9 Hot Tomato had providing outstanding entertainment and on-air support during the week-long festivities.
“We appreciate the support provided by Hot Tomato who have done a tremendous job in helping bring this tour to life this year.”
