The Gold Coast SUNS have appointed Olympic gold medallist, Michelle Mitchell OAM, as the club’s new Player Development Manager.

Mitchell brings over 15 years of experience in the career and education sectors and elite environments.

Prior to entering the development and welfare space, Mitchell was a member of the Australian Women’s Hockey Team, the Hockeyroos, representing the country on 148 occasions, where she won gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics, the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, the World Cup as well as claiming four Champions Trophy titles.

"Michelle is extremely well regarded and we welcome her and her family to the Gold Coast," GC SUNS GM of Football Operations, Marcus Ashcroft said.

“Michelle’s ability and experience to lead and challenge a high performing team will take our off-field program to the next level,”

“We believe Michelle is another quality appointment and a tremendous addition to our football department.”

Mitchell will commence her role with Gold Coast at next week’s NAB AFL Draft in Adelaide.

Her appointment further strengthens the club’s football department which has undergone a significant change following the 2015 season, with the appointment of six new high performance staff and three new coaches.