Suns players want Eade to stay: Swallow
Jul 11, 2017 - 6:07 AM Gold Coast star David Swallow has defended embattled coach Rodney Eade, who he says is being let down by an inconsistent playing group.Eade is out of contract at the end of the AFL season and now under the microscope, with a wide-ranging review into the Suns' football department to begin following Sunday's 67-point defeat to Sydney.
CEO Mark Evans is leading the review, which will look into all aspects of Gold Coast's AFL operations including the futures of long-time football manager Marcus Ashcroft and list manager Scott Clayton, who have both been in their positions since the club's inception.
Swallow said players wanted Eade and Ashcroft to remain at the helm of the club but admitted it was up to them to provide the "missing piece" for the Suns.
"I'm happy with where the club's at, we've re-signed some key players, and culturally the last few years we've made some massive inroads," Swallow told reporters on Tuesday.
"I've got full confidence in (Eade).
"The last piece of the puzzle is the on-field performance and the boys are all committed to trying to improve and hopefully this last seven games we can really get the most out of the year."
Swallow conceded the gap between Gold Coast's best and worst performances was far too big.
"I probably can't put my finger on exactly what it is," he said.
"It's probably a mental thing. We need to be able to hang in games for longer and for whatever reason we haven't been able to do that this year.
"Rocket's game plan seems to be working well at some parts of games, but as a playing group we need to stick at it for longer."
Swallow tried to play down the football review as something most AFL clubs do every year anyway, but said it wouldn't be happening if the Suns were a top-four side.
Gold Coast take on Collingwood, whose own coach Nathan Buckley is under fire this week, on Saturday at Metricon Stadium.
Source: AAP
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