Cairns-raised Jarrod Harbrow is the Gold Coast SUNS fifth uncontracted player signing. A speedy and classy running defender who played 69 games with the Western Bulldogs, he’ll be a crucial addition to the GC SUNS stocks in its inaugural AFL season. The 22-year old took time out this morning to chat to goldcoastfc.com.au about his move north.

First things first, Jarrod. Welcome to the GC SUNS.

Yeah. Thanks. It’s great to be here. I’m really excited about it all.

It must be a relief to be able to put all the speculating and ‘will-he-or-won’t-he’ talk behind you. Now you can focus on the second phase of your young career.

Absolutely. It’s really good to get the announcement out of the way. I’m just looking forward to getting up there to the Gold Coast and getting myself organised and starting up with a new club.

In a way, it’s been publicly assumed that you’ve always been keen to get home to Queensland. Will it be good to be back?

It’s sort of been speculated that I was keen to get north again, but really I’ve been pretty focused on my career at the Bulldogs so thinking about getting up there hasn’t been as important as people make out. I gave the Bulldogs my very best and I left them on good terms. I’ll be forever grateful to them. They gave my career a start. But coming back to Queensland. Yeah, when it was mentioned a while back that there might be another Queensland team, my ears definitely pricked up.

Then it was just a question of whether all the pieces fit together…

Yeah, absolutely. I always thought the idea was awesome. But you never really know what might happen. I’m just really thrilled to be a part of it now.

Obviously missing out on the win in last Friday’s Preliminary Final against the Saints must have been disappointing. Does the prospect of starting afresh at a new footballing home alleviate a bit of that?

No. They’re completely separate things. On Saturday the club and I tried our absolute hardest to get up, just like we’ve been trying our hardest for the last few years really. We were out there to win the game and to lose in a preliminary final is really hard. But playing at the Doggies and coming up here are completely different things. I can’t connect one to the other.

It’s fair to say took you a little while to find your rhythm in the seniors at the Dogs but things seemed to click for you when you were offered the chance to play as a running defender, one who could set things up offensively at speed from deep in the backline. Is that the role you see yourself playing at the GC SUNS?

Definitely. When I started off at the Dogs I think they saw me as a small crumbing forward who could tackle and apply good defensive pressure. I was happy with that role, too. But then Rocket [Rodney Eade, the Western Bulldogs’ Senior Coach] said he wanted to test me out down back. He knew I was quick and agile and that I could run and carry, so he thought it might be worth a go lining me up on a small forward and seeing if I could run off him. It worked out really well in the end. It’s a role I really enjoy.

Were you aware the Cairns Saints knocked off the almost unbackable Port Douglas Crocs in the AFL Cairns Grand Final? Have you kept in touch with what’s been going on up in the footy back home?

Now and then Dad rings me up and tells me what’s going on. But no, I didn’t know that. Bit of an upset, huh?

Sure was. Not sure your old mob at South Cairns Cutters went so well this year, though. What are your memories of playing up north?

All good ones. I used to really enjoy playing up there, playing the game you love. It was really fun. It was warm, I remember that well. And there was a really free-running style. And playing with your closest mates and having your family around. I have great memories of footy up there.

There’s been a bit of talk that you’ve been carrying a shoulder injury for a while. What’s going on with that?

Yeah, I’ve been struggling with my left shoulder for a while. I had a bit of an incident about half way through the year and I’ve been carrying it a bit ever since. I need to have surgery. So I’ll get that done as soon as I can, knock that over. Get myself into rehab and get everything right for some pre-season work.

Might set back any plans you had for taking up surfing now you’re going to be on the coast... Are you much of a surfer?

Nah. I’m hopeless to be honest. I’ve stood up a couple of times, but I’m not much good. I’m pretty keen to give it a proper crack, though. It’s something I definitely want to get into when I’m there.

What do you know about your new teammates?

Yeah. I’ve been keeping track of how the club’s been going in the VFL this year and so I’ve got a good handle on who’s been doing what. I know there’s some really talented fellas there. And I know a few of the FNQ boys. I know Rex [Liddy] from back north. And Charlie Dixon’s from Cairns.

You’re 22 now. How does it feel to be a relative veteran among the young GC SUNS list?

It’s a bit strange to be honest. At the Dogs I was one of the really young guys and now at the Gold Coast I’ll be one the senior players. I suppose at this level everyone brings their own leadership qualities and I’m happy to bring the club whatever I can to help build things up.

Was that kind of responsibility part of the appeal of coming to the Gold Coast SUNS?

I don’t really see myself as captain material, so to speak. I’m more of a guy that shows leadership by my actions. So I’ll be looking to do plenty of that.

Obviously the Western Bulldogs have been a relatively successful and highly competitive side for almost the entirety of your time there. Are there any particular lessons learned that you’ll bring with you to your new club?

The main message was always to get the basics right, to control the things you can control. So you’d look to always tackle the stuff that doesn’t necessarily take talent. Your hardness at the ball. Your willingness to tackle. The stuff you don’t really need talent to do well because it was more about attitude. The skills stuff was obviously important and each player brings their own individual traits, but if you could control the basics first, the foundations were down. That would be the main lesson, I think.