AFL hits Gold Coast with $2m ultimatum over controversial move to scrap Darwin home games

7NEWS

2 days ago

A battle is brewing over the AFL 's Darwin games as Gold Coast make moves to get out of its $2 million deal, according to Caroline Wilson.
The Suns have hosted two home games in the Northern Territory capital each year since taking over from Melbourne ahead of the 2022 season — and they have won every single time.
This year's wins over fellow finals hopefuls Hawthorn and the Bulldogs are finally set to help the expansion side reach September, but Wilson has now reported 'they would rather not be playing home games in Darwin'.
Gold Coast are due to host two more games there in 2026 — the last year of its current deal — but are 'certainly second-guessing it' and have already attempted to get out of the agreement.
Suns CEO Mark Evans recently contacted Richmond counterpart Shane Dunne and asked if the Tigers would pick up one or both of the matches, according to Wilson.
What followed was effectively an ultimatum from the AFL, which paid out more to Gold Coast in distributions than any other club in 2024.
'The AFL is not super impressed by this and have told the Suns 'if you want to get rid of these Gold Coast home games in Darwin, you're not going to find the $2 million any other way from us',' Wilson said on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters.
'The AFL not particularly impressed.'
Just why the Suns want to give up $2m and a 100 per cent winning record is up for debate, with senior coach Damien Hardwick's role unclear.
'The club has gone at great pains tonight to say to me that this is not being driven by Hardwick alone, that this is a football decision,' Wilson said.
'The view of the footy department at Gold Coast is they win at home, too, and they want to grow the game in southern Queensland.
'The view of the AFL is obviously they're trying to develop the game in Darwin.
'Obviously Gold Coast have some wonderful Indigenous players on their books who promote the game beautifully, and sell the game and develop the game in Darwin.
'I also think the footy view is they come back ultimately with tired legs that starts to show up at the end of the season, that's another reason they don't want to travel.'
The Suns have already put forward forward a compromise following the AFL's finance-focused response.
'The other view is that North Melbourne, who sell two home games for even more money to Western Australia, as a result get less travel with their other games,' Wilson added.
'Gold Coast are saying 'well, give us less travel elsewhere if you're going to send us to Darwin'.'
St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt and Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes both understood that burden is a concern but said the wins should make it worth it.
'It's clearly a competitive advantage for them to go up there,' Riewoldt said.
'I understand it's extra travel, so there is that consideration.
'But at the moment, it's almost automatic — you go up there, you play the game, and you bank the points, and you put $2 million in the pocket.'
Cornes described Darwin as a 'nightmare for opposition teams'.
'(The Suns are) well conditioned to it, it suits their style of play,' he said.
'I would think wins are the most important thing. I get it's a taxing load, it's a long season. But give us the automatic wins that you pretty much get from playing there.'
Gold Coast's Darwin victories prior to this season included triumphs over the Bulldogs and Adelaide in 2023 when the Suns finished 15th on the ladder to ninth and 10th respectively.
An upset win over premiership contenders Geelong followed in Hardwick's first season in charge last year.
'I'm really surprised. I assumed that this would've been driven by Damien Hardwick,' Wilson said.
'The Gold Coast Suns have always been a compliant club — they haven't been like the GWS Giants — and I think we're seeing less compliance from the Suns now.'