Gold Coast Suns sack AFL coach Stuart Dew amid Damien Hardwick rumours
Gold Coast Suns sack coach Stuart Dew after leading the team to their best-ever season in 2022 – sparking rumors Damien Hardwick could replace him
- Official announcement expected Tuesday morning
- Dew became a Gold Coast coach in 2018
- Has won 31 of 111 games in charge of the team
The Gold Coast Suns have slammed coach Stuart Dew after disappointing form left them languishing well down the ladder.
An official announcement is expected at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The 43-year-old started as a coach in 2018 and amassed 36 wins, 84 defeats and a draw from 121 games.
His contract was set to expire at the end of the 2024 season and it is rumored that former Richmond coach Damien Hardwick could be lining up to take over at the struggling club.
After a 2022 season that gave fans hope that the club was just around the corner and on track to play the final, the Suns have taken a back seat this season – and Dew (pictured after Saturday’s loss to Port Adelaide) has paid the price
The 43-year-old (pictured after the Port loss) started out as Suns coach in 2018, amassing 31 wins, 79 losses and a draw from 111 games.
The move means Gold Coast is almost certainly preparing to play for Richmond’s three-time premiership coach.
“We feel we have a great opportunity to achieve success with this group, but we have not seen the improvement we were looking for in 2023 and as a football club we must be prepared to make tough decisions, in that pursuit to success,” said Suns chairman Bob. East said in a statement.
“Stuart has made a significant contribution to this football club and has spent countless hours helping to set up a platform from which to grow our club. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him, his wife Sarah and family for the past six years. .’
Dew’s abdication comes just six days after Suns chief executive Mark Evans stepped in to stand next to Dew at his weekly press conference.
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick (pictured), who won the flag three times, is rumored to be the preferred option to take over
Suns chairman Bob East (pictured Tuesday) said the Suns dumped Dew because they made “tough decisions” in the “pursuit of success”
Evans provided a qualified defense from the under-fire coach after Gold Coast’s 78-point horror loss in a sold-out home game against Collingwood on July 1.
He also denied that Hardwick had been approached following the departure of the former Tigers coach from Punt Road in May.
“I’ve said over and over again, Stuey is our coach, under contract for this year and next year. If he does his job well, he will be contracted well into the future,” said Evans.
“All I can say is that he has my support to get started, to manage our players and staff as best we can.”
Dew, who took charge of Gold Coast in 2018, led the Suns to a club-best 10-win season in 2022 and things looked promising as they went into the bye 6-6.
But heavy losses to Carlton and the Magpies, split by a victory over Hawthorn, halted any momentum they had after memorable wins over Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs in Darwin.
Dew was appointed Gold Coast’s third full-time coach following Guy McKenna and Rodney Eade’s spells at the club, entering the AFL in 2011.
Dew led the Suns to their best-ever record in 2022, leading them to 10 wins and raising hopes that 2023 would be a breakout year for the team
Suns assistant Steven King is expected to serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season.
Hardwick left the Tigers in May after 14 years at the helm and has spent time traveling.
However, the 50-year-old confirmed last month that he was determined to return to coaching after a break.
“I’d be lying if I said I can’t see myself doing it,” Hardwick told the Dyl and Friends podcast.
‘I love it. I miss it. I was out for two weeks and I wanted to miss it, if that made sense.”