Five of Gold Coast’s selections at the 2015 national and rookie drafts have tasted senior football for the SUNS already in 2016, with No. 8 draft pick Callum Ah Chee the first to taste AFL action with a round one debut.
Mature-aged rookie Ryan Davis made his SUNS debut alongside Ah Chee with Mackenzie Willis (round six), Darcy Macpherson (round seven) and Jesse Joyce (round 11) all making their AFL debuts for the club since then.
The close bond shared by the 2015 draft crop is evident inside Carrara, with the first-year players pushing one another to become better.
Ah Chee told reporters at Metricon Stadium he was ‘super happy’ to see his good mate Joyce debut against the Swans on Saturday night and share the journey with him.
“Obviously we spend a lot of time together at the club and also away from the club, so guys like him (Jesse Joyce), Macca Willis, Darcy (Macpherson), it’s really awesome to see them getting games,” Ah Chee said.
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“We’re striving for the same thing so super proud of them and hopefully we can get some more games together.”
The SUNS make the pilgrimage to the home of football, the MCG, this Sunday to take on Richmond with some of Gold Coast’s young guns set to play at the venue for the first time at the top level.
While Ah Chee has played on the ground before with the AFL Academy, it will be a completely different experience in front of a passionate Tiger Army desperate to see their team return to the winner’s list.
“Playing at the ‘G is always a young kid’s dream so to play there would be amazing and obviously to win would be even better,” Ah Chee said.
