SUNS GM – List & Strategy Craig Cameron appeared on NAB AFL Trade Radio on Wednesday afternoon to discuss everything that went down on a hectic final day of trading.

Speaking to Damian Barrett, Terry Wallace and Kane Cornes, Cameron gave insight into the strategy behind the call to trade defenders Steven May and Kade Kolodjashnij to Melbourne for pick 6.

“It’s fair to say internally there was a big debate, at board level, footy sub-committee, within the football department,” Cameron said.

“Steven, at his best he’s one of the premier power defenders in the competition so the thought of letting someone of that calibre go, it’s a pretty tough call.”

Cameron said the club took a long-term view when weighing up whether to hold May to his contract for another season or entertain a trade in this trade period.

“Once we got in a position where both captains were not ready to commit to us long term, we had to change the strategy of the football club, we needed to break the cycle,” Cameron said.

“When we could find no way that there was going to be a long-term commitment (from May), it was a strategy we took.

“Clear the decks is the wrong term but to actually get some clear air, build a club from a base of bringing in some really good character people to the organisation.”

While Cameron said he was willing to let May go, it still needed to be for the right price.

“Given next year Steven would be a free agent, it was important that we received the right recompense this year for him,” Cameron said.

“There was a fair few things that had to unfold and really all of that didn’t come to fruition until the last week.”

Cameron said including Kolodjashnij in the same deal with the Demons was part of an overall strategy to bring in Port Adelaide defender Jack Hombsch, which is why the SUNS did not receive any later picks from Melbourne.

“The way that these trades are presented on the board is not necessarily the machination of the trade,” Cameron explained

“The way we look at it is part of that whole deal (with Melbourne) included Jack Hombsch coming to us for very little.

“They get written up a certain way but it’s not the way we actually have negotiated it.”

Cameron’s first year as Gold Coast’s list manager has been a busy one, but he believes with the right people in place behind the scenes the SUNS can reverse their fortunes.

“There’s been retention issues in the past and we need to break that cycle,” he said.

“It’s disappointing, we’ve actually got to change our football club so that we don’t have guys coming towards their peak of their career that want to leave.

“Free agency can hurt clubs like ours, but not if we get our off-field right.

“If we start to get the off-field right and we start to drive the club in the right direction then we hope that those things will turn around.”

With no more trade targets in their sights, Gold Coast can switch its focus to the draft where it hopes to bring in a plethora of top-end talent.

For the first time this year, draft picks can be traded right up until draft night and during the draft itself which could see the order constantly changing.

The SUNS currently hold picks 2, 3, 6, 24, 29 and 80.

Cameron says that neither Adelaide nor Port Adelaide, who are keen to move up the draft order to secure top South-Australian draft prospects, have put a formal offer on the table for Gold Coast’s top picks.

“They haven’t specifically approached us for (picks) 2 or 3, but they’ve approached us to have a conversation down the track,” Cameron said.