The Gold Coast SUNS have welcomed Sam Clohesy, Will Rowlands and Jack Mahony to the club today via the 2023 Rookie Draft.
Clohesy is a former SUNS Academy player who played in the talent program from the ages of 14 to 16 before relocating back to Melbourne with his family.
He is a 20-year-old rebounding half-back who won the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal in 2023 as the best young talent in the VFL.
Clohesy is the younger brother of Geelong midfielder Ted and has played two seasons with Werribee, including the VFL Grand Final against the SUNS where he recorded 22 disposals and seven marks.
Rowlands is a Northern Territory native who thrives as a midfielder-forward.
He played alongside Jed Walter, Jake Rogers, Ethan Read and Will Graham in the title-winning Allies squad during the Under 18 National Championships and also has played in the SANFL Reserves for Norwood.
Mahony was delisted by North Melbourne last month after playing 44 games for the Kangaroos across four seasons with the club.
The 22-year-old is a clever small forward with strong tackling pressure.
GC SUNS National Recruiting Manager Kall Burns welcomed the trio to the SUNS.
“We’re really pleased to be able to add some more players with versatility to our list through the Rookie Draft after welcoming our four Academy players in the National Draft earlier this week,” Burns said.
“Sam and Jack come to us with high-level football experience and have skillsets we wanted to add to our group.
“Will has already played football with our other draftees through the Allies and impressed us there - it’s also fantastic to add another Territorian to our mix.”
Prior to the Rookie Draft commencing, the club also re-drafted Sam Day in the pre-season draft after an agreement with the key forward, in order to open list spots for the National Draft.
The SUNS have also elevated Hewago Oea from the Rookie List to the Primary List.
The club now has one list spot open ahead of pre-season kicking off on Monday November 27.
The Supplementary Selection Period (SSP) also commences on Monday where the club has the chance to add further players to the list prior to the season beginning.
Clubs have two windows to formally sign a player via the SSP: November 27 – December 14 and January 15 – February 19.
Two players per available list spot are permitted to train with the club to audition for a SSP selection, up to a maximum of six at any one time.
Player Profiles:
Sam Clohesy
State: Victoria
State League Club: Werribee (VFL)
Junior Club: St Joseph’s
Date of Birth: 12/12/2002
Height: 189cm
Jack Mahony
State: Victoria
Former Club: North Melbourne (AFL)
Junior Club: East Malvern
Date of Birth: 12/11/2001
Height: 178cm
Will Rowlands
State: Northern Territory
State League Club: Norwood (SANFL)
Junior Club: Southern Districts
Date of Birth: 19/06/2005
Height: 179cm
