The Gold Coast SUNS have secured Elijah Hollands with pick 7 in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft.
The young Victorian midfielder will know a few familiar faces when he arrives on the Gold Coast after playing with SUNS 2019 draftee Sam Flanders for Victoria Country in last year’s National championships and training with Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson for the Oakleigh Chargers.
A midfielder who can also go forward, Elijah is a player who has genuine impact on games, kicks goals, takes the ball forward and out of stoppages, and wants to have it in his hands in the big moments.
Hollands was quick to highlight his excitement at being selected to play for the Gold Coast SUNS.
“The feeling is pure elation,” Hollands said.
“This is what I’ve wanted to do for such a long time and to have that achieved now and to get the opportunity to play AFL Footy I’m over the moon.
Amongst all the excitement Hollands expressed his admiration for his new teammates and the club.
“I’m absolutely thrilled, Gold Coast has an unbelievable young core group of players and to be able to mix in with them and get stuck into work with them over the summer, I’m just truly thrilled.
“I can’t wait to get stuck into it.”
The SUNS fifth selection was pushed back to pick seven, after the Western Bulldogs matched the Adelaide Crows bid for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan with the first pick of the night and then the Sydney Swans matched Hawthorn’s bid at pick 6 for academy product Braeden Campbell.
GC SUNS National Recruiting Manager Kall Burns was thrilled to have such a high-quality young man join the football club.
“Elijah is a player we’ve had a really high opinion of for a long time and we’re ecstatic to have him at the SUNS,” Burns said.
“He’s a powerful footballer on field that this is great ball user and compliments our list but importantly he’s also a quality young man who comes from a great family.”
The club also had a fourth-round selection however with no available list spots on the primary list the club chose to pass.
It ends a momentous day for the club, with four Academy graduates, Alex Davies, Joel Jeffrey, Rhys Nicholls and Aiden Fyfe, also being announced as joining the SUNS for 2021, with 30% of the club’s overall list now coming from Queensland pathways.
The club will head into Thursday morning’s NAB AFL Rookie Draft with three selections, but have already committed to redrafting Jack Hombsch and Jordan Murdoch.
Player Profile
Pick 7 - Elijah Hollands
Height - 189cm
Weight - 85kg
DOB - 25/4/02
Team - Murray Bushrangers/Vic Country
Position - Midfielder/forward
Hollands is a player who has genuine impact on games: he kicks long goals, takes the ball forward and out of stoppages, and wants to have it in his hands in the big moments. Easygoing and popular, Hollands suffered a knee injury in early 2020 but has impressed recruiters with how he has accepted the challenge throughout the year.
