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Heading north? Lance Franklin has been named amongst a host of big names to be offered contracts at the AFL’s newest team on the Gold Coast in 2011. (AAP) |
AFL’s Gold Coast push targets Franklin for 2011
Issue 151 - 17 Apr 2008
By Chris Munro
AFL
Issue 151, April 17, 2008: SOME of the AFL’s emerging superstars, including Hawthorn’s Aboriginal gun Lance Franklin head a list of players set to line up for a Gold Coast based club that will take to the field in 2011.
Franklin has been tentatively named by agents working behind the scenes for the new club in a bid to secure some of the AFL’s top talent when the competition’s 17th team eventually gains its licence.
The Hawk spearhead has been singled-out along with Brisbane’s Jonathan Brown, St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt and Port Adelaide midfielder Chad Cornes as marquee players of interest.
The murmurings circulating throughout the AFL over the last week follow a proposal revealed by AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou to introduce a type of free agent scheme in which the Gold Coast club will be provided with one off-contract player per club at the end of the 2010 season.
This projected move may prove extremely difficult for the expanding AFL, especially in terms of luring the game’s brightest stars.
All 16 clubs have moved swiftly to secure their top talent in the wake of the AFL’s Gold Coast announcement, yet one recruiting weapon the new club will be armed with is a fist full of cash.
Arguably the biggest name in he AFL at the moment, Johnathan Brown’s continued services at the Lions have been sought vigorously by the club, as evidenced by a recent meeting in Brisbane with his manager Glenn Warry.
Brown is currently worth over a million a year, but at season’s end this year, he will be off contract, and that’s a fact causing some concern at the Lions.
Brisbane is preparing to re-sign their 26-year-old co-captain for a period of between three and four years, meaning Brown would be protected from any advances from the Gold Coast.
Franklin presents a different kettle of fish, and due to his age, could be the most valuable signing if he is convinced to head north.
At 21-years-old, the gifted Hawk forward would just be hitting his straps in 2011 but the management at Hawthorn, who have worked wonders on the recruiting front, will do all in their power to hold onto ‘Buddy’ well into the club’s current resurgence period.
Second-tier players the Gold Coast are interested in include first-year Adelaide ruckman Kurt Tippett, Brisbane full-back Daniel Merrett, Richmond’s Andrew Raines, who all hail from Southport, and fellow Queenslanders David Armitage (St Kilda) and North Melbourne ruckman/forward David Hale.
High profile player agent Ricky Nixon hinted recently that he would not be advising his player stable to sign on at their current clubs beyond 2011, as the opportunity presented at the Gold Coast would be ‘once in a lifetime.’
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