Several StreetSmarts SUNS Academy products have fired up SUNS fans in the season’s hot start.

Among nine academy products who played Richmond at the MCG on the weekend were Will Graham, Ethan Read and Jake Rogers who put in a mountain of work to earn their place in Damien Hardwicks side.

The trio collectively contributed to six goals in the 10-goal win over the Tigers, earning the praise of Assistant Coach Shaun Grigg.

“Credit goes to the amount of development the young guys have shown and to the preseason they have had,” Gold Coast SUNS Assistant Coach Shaun Grigg said.

“We’re really pleased that they have now had the opportunity to run out and how they are performing within the team and the system.”

Opening Round marked Palm Beach Currumbin junior Will Graham’s long-awaited return to the AFL field since suffering a shoulder injury in Round 9 of 2025 and a following hamstring injury in the VFL.

The value the young SUN brings to the field was back on display against Richmond, where the 20-year-old finished with nine contested possessions, seven score involvements and a goal of his own.

“Throughout his career we’ve seen he’s a tough player but we’ve also seen him able to hit the scoreboard and setup opportunities for teammates so it’s good to see him back performing at full health,” Grigg added.

While Graham has put his best foot forward on return, his primary focus is clocking continuous match minutes into his legs.

“After a fair stint off, I’m just trying to get back on track and put games together back-to-back and then build some momentum from there,” Graham said.

Fellow Palm Beach Currumbin junior Read also turned up the heat on Saturday, amassing 11 marks and a career-high four goals, to earn himself a pair of Coaches Votes.

“Ethan’s put in truckloads of effort into making the most of opportunities and taking his marks, so it was really good to see on the weekend,” Graham noted.

“I’ve seen him working hard on his footwork to get into position to take the mark with the forwards coach Brad Miller in detail, so it’s great to see him now get his reward and then also kicking the goals after.”

With Christian Petracca and Bailey Humphery to be absent in upcoming rounds, Grigg reaffirmed there is a suite of talent, including StreetSmarts SUNS Academy graduates, who have the capabilities to step-up in the midfield mix.

“The beauty of having the bye round is that we have a couple of training sessions to try a few things out with the players we feel are in form,” Grigg said.

“Will and Jake came into the team and performed strongly and in the absence of Matt Rowell, Alex Davies has stepped up too with clarences and a lot of the grunt work inside.

“Davies is a tough and physical player and has really been bring that for us these past few rounds.”