Let’s a have a look at each position group and try to sort out how they will look this year at least at first, and we might try to project where things will be by the end of the season too.
Key Defenders
The Suns’ key defence is quite settled at the moment, Sam Collins, Charlie Ballard and Mac Andrew played pretty much the whole season together last year. The main options we have who might feature in their place are Caleb Graham, Joel Jeffrey, Jy Farrar and Ethan Read. Hardwick usually played with three talls at Richmond so I don’t expect that to change. Jeffrey and Read are the big watches here. Can Jeffrey earn a spot as a tall running halfback? Is Read ready to be thrown in to the big time already?
Sam Collins
Age: 29
Games: 104
2 years to go under contract
Collins is the most senior campaigner of the group. He’s won a club best and fairest and has been a reliable fullback in at best mediocre sides since 2020. He is a classic fullback in every sense, extremely physical in the marking contest, barks out instructions to the rest of the side from his vantage point but isn’t especially mobile and you often have to watch him kick through your fingers. As is often the case in defence he had an up and down season last year depending on the matchup but he peaked in a losing effort against GWS with 10 intercept marks to equal the AFL record.
I don’t expect his role to change much, ‘Sergeant’ will be the deepest defender marshalling the rest of the defensive line. He will look his best when the Suns are able to slow counter-attacks and give him the chance to put a body on his man before going for marks. At 29 you would think he was in the last seasons of his prime but considering the lack of miles in his legs at only 104 games he could be an unquestioned starter for a while yet.
Charlie Ballard
Age: 24
Games: 110
2 years to go under contract
I didn’t realise Ballard had racked up more games than Collins at just 24, he’s actually been a starter at the club for a year longer than Sam. This bodes well for Ballard’s future as he is growing into one of the best intercept defenders in the league. He was on All-Australian pace till about Round 18 last year before his form fell off. He is a superb mark when he has space for a run-up or the ball is to his advantage and he reads the game well for a young player. He is a more reliable kick than Collins too. He is not a very strong 1 on 1 defender though, either losing players in the zone or just getting beaten in physical contests. He is at his best when he is freed up to just attack the ball. For the club to improve on last year Ballard will have to either become more proficient in maintaining the defensive zone or if given the opportunity fly in as the extra man all day halting opposition attacks.
He could really benefit from Alex Rance’s coaching to learn when to come off his man to attack the ball and vice versa. I am not sure he’ll quite get the freedom he needs to truly thrive as he will most likely have to closely mark the second biggest key forward against most teams. He will have to keep developing his connection to the rest of the defence to get his positioning right inside d50.
Mac Andrew
Age: 20
Games: 21
2 years to go under contract
Andrew is probably the defender with the biggest potential for growth in the side and maybe the whole league if we want to really push the boat out. He played his first full season of AFL football last year and stared to develop some game awareness. He still tried to bite off more than he could chew with his kicks a lot and got lost in defence at times but his highs were very high. No one in the league looks more impressive taking a mark when he really gets to leap for one because he just gets so high off the ground and stretches so far. And despite his decision making his field kicking technique is well ahead of most 200cm tall footballers. For this reason Hardwick has mentioned that he is training at both ends of the ground. As is often the case with young key position players, the Suns haven’t totally decided where he will fit best in the long-run. The logjam in the forward line all but guarantees he will remain down back but don’t be surprised if he has stints in the forward line to try to throw off opposition defences.
He is kind of in the Charlie Ballard bracket of player except he is taller. It would be best if he didn’t have to watch his opposite man and could just be the free man in defence but you can’t really have two of those. The challenge for Hardwick will be finding the right balance to get the best out of both of them. I think their roles will be matchup dependent game to game. Maybe Andrew leaks forward at times to try to take easier marks on the wing and then defends a bit higher up the ground. I’m sure Hardwick will also do a better job of ensuring he isn’t marking a rapid small forward which happened far too often last year. Overall I would just like to see him show even better game sense as he goes through his third preseason, developing his footy brain will be key to creating more chances to show off his abilities and help him lock down a spot alongside Ballard and Collins for a long time.
Caleb Graham
Age: 23
Games 37
3 years to go under contract
A dependable VFL key defender, Caleb Graham has had plenty of success in the 2’s, He was a crucial part of the flag winning side last year. And I think that’s what he will be for the rest of his time at the Suns. He comes from the same mould as Collins except his strengths are not as strong as big Sam’s. I think Read is more likely to fill in for injured talls just because of how much more potential he has.
Joel Jeffrey
Age: 21
Games: 16
5 years to go under contract
Jeffrey raised some eyebrows this summer as the Suns signed him up to a long-term contract despite minimal playing time in his 3 seasons at the club. This level of investments suggests the list management team and the coaches really believe in his talent and you would think he was on track to start straight away in 2024. But that doesn’t appear to be guaranteed, Hardwick has already made a comment in the press about him needing to be more consistent on and off-field which doesn’t fill me with confidence. Jeffrey has all the physical abilities coaches dream about. He is fairly tall at 192cm, very fast for his size and he already has a decent highlights package for a player with less than 20 games under his belt. Hardwick has suggested he play in the backline this year at least for now as they search for someone to fill Lachie Weller’s running halfback role. Jeffrey on paper has all the skills to do it but hasn’t quite backed it up over a stretch of games yet. This may all come down to what his new coaches can coax out of him. Can they motivate him with a role that he likes in a gameplan that wins? If they can do that he could be the big surprise of the season on the Gold Coast.
Jy Farrar
Age:27
Games: 34
2 years to go under contract
Farrar is a very similar sort of player to Jeffrey, tall, fast and has never quite convinced at the top level, except he is supposed to be in his physical prime. Its now or never really for Farrar if he is to make a mark on the first team. Weirdly I thought he was excellent in the round 1 drubbing against Sydney last year but he didn’t kick on from that at all. He is most likely to play a key role in the VFL side and fill in for injuries in the 1s. But I have always rooted for him to put it all together so hopefully he finds a spot under a new system.
Ethan Read
Age: 18
Games: 0
3 years to go under contract
I think I may have saved the most interesting player till last amongst our key defender options. Read was drafted this year as a 200cm ruckman who apparently runs a 2km time trial with the midfielders. He is the most mobile ruckman around the ground to come into the league in a long time and joins a long line of potential unicorns who could shake up the game. Hardwick hasn’t hidden his excitement about what Read could do, saying he won’t put a ceiling on it. He has hinted that he may get some time on the wing ‘Blicavs-style’, but we have seen him most down back as a key defender in preseason. How he gets used depends on everyone’s fitness and what Hardwick is willing to try early on when the pressure is less immediate.
If we lose a couple of talls down back or forward he will likely be one of the first choices to fill in. But if Hardwick can’t wait that long he may put him on a wing and let him roam the ground and see what he can do. This is obviously very intriguing but I think Hardwick may want to get the gameplan working well before he throws a joker like Read onto open ground like that. I suspect we may only see him in the odd game as a key defence replacement for now while the game style gets bedded in. But if things are going well and Read looks comfortable in the 2s he could get a chance in more of a ‘Blicavs’ role without too much time in the ruck. His role in year one will likely be dependent on team performance but he feels like one of those players whose every involvement will draw the eyes.
Eyes on the Suns 
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