The Gold Coast SUNS today unveiled Stuart Dew as their new Senior Coach on a minimum three-year deal, after he was ratified by the club's board late on Wednesday night.
One of the new coach's first priorities will be to meet with his players, and the long-time Sydney assistant said he had already made contact with SUNS captain Tom Lynch.
While Dew had not yet had the opportunity to address the entire playing group, he was able to meet a handful of players across Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
"I'll have those conversations and I'll make sure they understand that I've got a clear view of what a successful environment looks like and I'd love them to be part of it," Dew said.
"Tom Lynch in particular as captain, I love watching Tom Lynch and I've admired him from afar, so I'd love that opportunity to work with him.
"As soon as he lands back in Australia I'll catch up with him."
Dew didn't set any bold goals for 2018 but said he was looking forward to taking over after a six-win season that saw the SUNS finish 17th, declaring "the bigger the challenge the better the rewards".
He pointed to Richmond's success in 2017, rising from 13th to first, as proof of what a club could achieve when it was united towards a common goal.
CEO Mark Evans, who recommended Dew to the SUNS' board, said the club was pleased with the field of candidates, with Dew winning the position from leading assistants John Barker and Scott Burns.
He said Dew's standout characteristics were his footy smarts, commitment to high-performance culture, and his ability to band a group of people together to chase success.
"There's no secret he is heavily influenced by the Sydney Swans, the Hawthorn Football Club and by Port Adelaide and the successes they have had and the way they have galvanised a playing group, a coaching group and a staff," Evans said.
"We're not expecting that on day one he has every single answer.
"We are expecting that he will be the leader of the players and coaches to continually assess and analyse where they're at and chase down whatever is new to make us even better.
"He does it himself and I'm sure he has a great capacity to inspire that in others."
Asked what he expected when making the step from assistant to senior coach, Dew said he had been given some idea by Sydney coach John Longmire.
"As an assistant you have a little bit of a fingerprint on it, but you're not the leader of the club," he said.
"That's the jump, and John's told me that and you never know until you're in the chair.
"I'm certainly looking forward to input from all, but understand I am the decision maker."
