Gold Coast Suns weigh future of lucrative Darwin deal amid finals push

The Australian

2 days ago

The $1 million-per-game agreement to play two matches a season in Darwin is due to expire at the end of 2026 and although they are committed to seeing it out, what the partnership looks like beyond next year is still up for discussion.
The club could ask to lower the number of games per season or withdraw entirely as it sets sights on prioritising contending for premierships and playing more games in front of fans on the Gold Coast.
Although the Suns receive a not-insignificant financial windfall to shift two of their home games from the Glitter Strip to the Top End each year, they believe it comes with a competitive disadvantage cost in the form of additional travel.
That cost is particularly felt late in the season, where they traditionally fade out of finals contention.
On face value the annual pilgrimage to Darwin looks like a slam dunk competitive advantage for the Suns, given they are eight wins and zero losses since striking the deal ahead of the 2022 season.
But Gold Coast believes it would just as likely win those games at People First Stadium, which for a two-month stretch of this season sat empty while Damien Hardwick's side travelled the width and breadth of the country.
The $1 million per game payment is also not a net gain for the Suns. A portion of that money goes back into hosting the matches at TIO Stadium and all associated costs.
If those two home games in Darwin were instead replaced by blockbuster fixtures against high-drawing opposition such as Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon or Hawthorn at People First Stadium, the Suns could recoup some – though not all – of the money lost by not playing in the Top End.
For the Suns, who are staring down a potential top four berth and knocking on the premiership window, striking the on-field and off-field balance is now more crucial than ever.
Last year, CEO Mark Evans presented a long list of checks and balances to the AFL in the midst of its competitive balance review, highlighting what the Suns felt were comprehensive disadvantages that they and the likes of GWS faced in comparison to more established clubs.
Evans' 'Summary of Advantage and Disadvantage' featured 14 key metrics and 13 of those, by his rule, the Suns were on the wrong end of. Only their Northern Academy got his tick of approval.
Chief among those disadvantages was travel.
By season's end the heavyweight Victorian clubs will have enjoyed 16-plus rounds of football within their home states while at the same time, the Suns are running on fumes after travelling every second week.
A small portion of West Coast and Fremantle's travel burden was alleviated this year with North Melbourne taking two home games to Western Australia in rounds 13 and 14, while Adelaide and Port Adelaide ostensibly gained an extra home game each season due to Gather Round.
But the clubs in Queensland and New South Wales do not have similar mechanisms to minimise their travel and in the case of the Suns, theirs is exacerbated by being further from Victoria and the annual trip to Darwin.
By distance covered, the West Australian clubs comfortably clear the rest of the competition each season. But for time spent in the air, West Coast and Fremantle's chartered flights to Melbourne are roughly 3.5 hours compared to the 2.5 hours from Gold Coast to Melbourne.
To that end, the Suns still feel more can be done limit their time in the sky across the season.
Evans has previously asked the AFL to consider not fixturing the Suns to play in Perth, while their deal with Darwin is in place, however that request was knocked back.
Another alternative, which Evans posited on Tuesday, was for Darwin to host an 'AFL Round' in a similar vein to Gather Round. That, he said, would keep football in the Top End while allowing Gold Coast to retain its home games at a time the Suns want to cash in on their strong form.
When the Gold Coast board met in June, People First Stadium had hosted just three home games to that point in the season and the question was asked: what are we doing?
With big brother Brisbane boosting its membership base by another 10 per cent off the back of a successful premiership campaign, the Suns are waging a war for new fans within Queensland and taking home games out of the state does not help.
With the Lions' rapid growth soon to be handicapped by their outdated Gabba home, which will not be replaced until 2032, and NRL rival the Gold Coast Titans' on-field struggles, the time is now for the Suns to go all-in on growing their local supporter base. AFL
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