Suns coach set to swing the axe in AFL

Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade will swing the axe this week in a bid to eradicate his team’s “horrendous” turnover trend.

The Suns slumped to their seventh straight defeat in Sunday’s 77-point loss to West Coast at Domain Stadium.

Although West Coast were far too sleek for the Suns, Eade was left frustrated by a number of inexplicable turnovers under barely any pressure.

The issue has irked Eade for several weeks now.

And with the club’s injury crisis now starting to ease, Eade is finally in a position to make a statement at the selection table.

“They scored 13.8 out of their 20 goals from our turnovers. Some of them were really basic, and some were horrendous,” Eade said.

“They keep making those mistakes, so you have to do something about them.”

Eade hopes up to five players will be available to return for Saturday night’s clash with the Swans at Metricon Stadium.

Kade Kolodjashnij is expected to be available despite being hospitalised for an abdominal issue, while Rory Thompson, Callum Ah Chee, Sam Day, Touk Miller, Jarrad Grant, Matt Rosa, and Trent McKenzie are other players who could be in the mix.

Eade hasn’t given up hope of his team making the finals, despite their 3-7 record.

But even if that proves too hard to achieve, he at least wants them to shape the final make-up of the top eight.

Skipper Gary Ablett tallied 32 disposals and eight clearances against the Eagles, and Eade was pleased with the 32-year-old’s output.

“That’s his benchmark.” Eade said.

“He started a bit slow, but his performance was fantastic after quarter time.

“He led from the front and put himself into the action and won the ball, and his tackling was good as well.”

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!