Geelong’s straight sets finals exit has lifted the GC SUNS in the selection order for next month’s NAB AFL Draft on the Gold Coast.

SUNS List & Strategy Manager, Scott Clayton, has at his disposal a first-round compensation pick which will be allocated immediately following the Cats’ first round selection.

The compensation pick was one of two awarded to Geelong when star midfielder Gary Ablett headed north, but was eventually traded back to Clayton and his recruiting officers when former SUN Josh Caddy left for Simonds Stadium.

Geelong’s semi-final loss to North Melbourne will see the Cats finish fifth on the premiership table and with the No. 13 pick in the AFL Draft, subject to any first-round compensation picks being received by other clubs through the trade and exchange period.

Nonetheless as it stands, the SUNS’ protected first-round compensation pick is now at No. 14.

Earlier this season, General Manager of Football Operations, Marcus Ashcroft, said the club was realistic where the eventual top-four Cats might finish ahead of the September action.

“Obviously from our point of view, the lower they finish the better it is for us, but you can’t see it happening because they have got a good coach and they have got a good team still,” he told News Limited at the time.

“We had to activate it this year because it expires, but you try to leave it as late as you can. The last years they have finished higher than lower. They have been unbelievable. They have been able to sustain their success for a lot longer than most people thought.”

Gold Coast’s twelfth-place finish to season 2014 means the SUNS will have two picks inside the first round at seven and 14, respectively.