Bodhi Uwland has won his first Gold Coast SUNS Club Champion following a thrilling count at The Star Gold Coast on Saturday night.
Uwland capped off a career-best season taking out the club’s highest individual honour ahead of fellow defenders Sam Collins and Mac Andrew.
He finished the count on 57 votes, three ahead of vice-captain Collins with Andrew a further four votes back.
The 23-year-old is the first Gold Coaster and first product of the StreetSmarts SUNS Academy to win the club’s highest individual honour.
Seen as an emerging leader at the SUNS, Uwland took his game to new heights in 2026 as one of the club’s most consistent performers.
He polled a maximum 15 votes across a three-week period mid-season, which included a career-best 31 disposals to go with a goal in the Round 9 win over St Kilda.
Now in his fifth season on the SUNS list following an injury-plagued beginning to his AFL career, he played every possible match for a second consecutive season.
Previous two-time Club Champion Collins earned a spot on the podium for the fourth time in his career, while third-place finish is the first of Andrews’ young career. The duo were immense throughout 2026 as the club’s regular key defensive pillars, both finishing among the league’s elite for intercept marks and spoils.
Earlier in the night, Uwland also claimed his first David Swallow Award (Players’ Player) as well as the Jarrod Harbrow Community Award.
Leo Lombard’s impressive second season earned him the People First Bank Emerging Player award. The 19-year-old played all 23 matches to also finish fourth in the Club Champion count.
Matt Rowell took out the Hostplus Most Professional, Ben King’s 60-goal season earned him a fifth SIXT Leading Goal Kicker, Cairns product Caleb Graham won the club’s Great Northern Brewing Co. VFL Player of the Year while Archie Hill was presented as the StreetSmarts Male Academy Player of the Year.
2025 GC SUNS Club Champion Top 10:
1st: Bodhi Uwland (57)
2nd: Sam Collins (54)
3rd: Mac Andrew (50)
4th: Leo Lombard (45)
=5th: Touk Miller (40)
=5th: Noah Anderson (40)
7th: John Noble (37)
=8th: Matt Rowell (33)
=8th: Ned Moyle (33)
=10th: Christian Petracca (31)
=10th: Ben Long (31)
=10th: Bailey Humphrey (31)
Voting Process: Players are assessed on their performance by Gold Coast’s match committee, with all players receiving a rating from 0-5 for each game they play. The match committee make a joint decision on each player, meaning the maximum votes a player can receive in any match is five.
2026 GC SUNS Club Champion Awards
Club Champion: Bodhi Uwland
Club Champion Runner-Up: Sam Collins
Club Champion Third Place: Mac Andrew
David Swallow Award (Players’ Player): Bodhi Uwland
Hostplus Most Professional: Matt Rowell
People First Bank Emerging Player: Leo Lombard
SIXT Leading Goal Kicker: Ben King
Great Northern Brewing Co. VFL Player of the Year: Caleb Graham
Jarrod Harbrow Community Award: Bodhi Uwland
StreetSmarts Male Academy Player of the Year: Archie Hill
