Three Gold Coast SUNS young guns – Tom Lynch, Adam Saad and Kade Kolodjashnij - have been rewarded for their outstanding seasons with selection in the initial AFL Players’ Association’s 22under22 squad.
Only Collingwood, Greater Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs have greater than three representatives in the 47-man squad, with Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Port Adelaide all having three each in the squad that was announced on Wednesday.
To be eligible for selection for the prestigious 22under22 team, players must be 22 and under on the day of the Grand Final – October 3. Harley Bennell misses the selection by just one day.
Given the dire state of injury affairs at Metricon Stadium, one would have thought that had David Swallow, Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia and Jack Martin not missed so much football in 2015, they all would have demanded spots in the 22 given what they have demonstrated in the past.
Despite a tough season for Rodney Eade’s side, given the wealth of young talent at the Gold Coast SUNS, the club is in tremendous shape. Steven May is another player who has had a sensational 2015 and at 23 will only get better with more experience.
Of the SUNS nominees, Lynch has had the biggest impact on the competition as a whole and sits comfortably amongst Jeremy Cameron, Chad Wingard, Jesse Hogan and Jake Stringer as one of the premier young forwards in the game.
The Gold Coast spearhead has followed up his 2014 breakout season with an even better year, and at a time where his side needed him more than ever. After 21 rounds, Lynch has booted 40 goals, averaging 14.9 possessions and 6.7 marks per game.
With captain Gary Ablett missing almost the entire season due to injury, Lynch has emerged as a strong candidate to replace the champion midfielder when the time eventually comes. The longer the year has progressed, the louder the praise has been for the Victorian’s blossoming leadership and from all the people who count most inside Metricon Stadium.
Like Lynch, Kolodjashnij has elevated his game this season as well as his leadership capacity. With so much leadership and experience missing for large portions of 2015, the rebounding defender has earmarked himself as someone who can be counted on, regardless of the circumstance.
The Tasmanian has well and truly escaped the fabled ‘second-year’ blues to be one of the best players from his 2013 draft class this season. Kolodjashnij sits comfortably with Patrick Cripps, Dom Sheed, Marcus Bontempelli, Lewis Taylor and Tom Langdon as the best from his year on the back of his stellar season.
The 20-year-old has played every game in 2015 and is favoured to finish high in Gold Coast’s best and fairest count given his ultra-consistent season.
He is averaging 22 possessions, 5.6 marks and 4.3 rebound 50s from 20 appearances, although his impact has been greater than his pure numbers. Kolodjashnij has proven to be a cool head regardless of the situation and how inexperienced the back six is around him. He was taken with pick No. 5 for a reason, and looms as a 200+ game player.
The 22under22 squad is an ensemble of glamour. It is chock-a-block full of the premier young stars in the game. It is littered with high draft picks and former schoolboy superstars. And that is what makes Saad’s presence even more remarkable.
This time last year, Saad was in the closing stages of the season at Coburg in the VFL. Fast-forward 12 months, and although injury has dampened the last part of his debut season, his year has been nothing short of breath taking. Through his audacious runs and death defying darts out of defence, Saad has not only captivated those with ties to Gold Coast, but the entire competition.
Like a famous culinary dish, Saad has left followers of this great game salivating over his football, and simply wanting more. In sixteen matches, the mature-aged rookie averaged 17 disposals at an exceptional efficiency rate of 83.1 per cent, to go with 3.1 rebound 50s per game and one of the best blink-and-you’ll-miss-it highlights reels in the games history.
