STRIKING the balance between getting the draft capital to bring in a suite of highly rated academy products while leaping at the opportunity to recruit three-time premiership player Anne Hatchard was one Gold Coast navigated expertly throughout the 2025 AFLW trade period.
With as many as 10 top-end players coming through Monday's Telstra AFLW draft that are tied to the club, the Suns needed to bolster their draft hand to match bids coming for the likes of Sunny Lappin, Georja Davies, Ava Usher, Dekota Baron, Alannah Welsh and more. But then when the prospect of Hatchard making the move north became a reality, they got to work.
The addition of Adelaide champion Erin Phillips as the club's new head of women's footy didn't hurt, either, given her strong connection with her former teammate.
"It all sort of happened relatively quickly, but having Erin come on board as well probably played a role in that," Gold Coast AFLW recruiting officer Thomas Waldron told AFL.com.au.
"We didn't want bringing in mature players to impact our ability to bring the academy girls in, but clearly when a player of Anne's capability and stature in the game became available, we did everything we could to make it happen. So we are pretty excited to have her join our footy club, and we think she'll be able to play a key role in helping the kids."
After being involved in multiple pick swaps during the trade period, the Suns now hold seven picks - 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27 and 32 - within the first two rounds, making them capable of matching high bids on their academy players. In order to do so, however, the Suns have traded out their first-, second- and third-round pick for 2026, as well as players Claudia Whitfort (Carlton), Lauren Bella (Carlton) and Jac Dupuy (Hawthorn).
The AFLW's bid-matching system is not points-based as in the men's, rather clubs simply must have a pick within a round (18 picks) of the bid in order to match.
"We plan a long way in advance to do things like this. This draft crop has obviously been coming through for three, four years. We've had our eye on it, plus we've given up a full suite of picks next year," Waldron said.
"We've also had to let go of three great servants of our footy club, Claudia, Lauren and Jac, who have done great things for our footy club and they're all quality players. So we've had to give up a lot to get the draft capital in."
The club's academy pipeline has served it well, with all five of its draft selections last year – headlined by Havana Harris – coming from the program, so too head coach Rhyce Shaw, who spent two years as the academy's director of coaching.
"Rhyce has been involved with the academy for a long time, so he's really excited to coach this young group. He's got a lot of energy, all the girls that are currently in our club love him," Waldron said.
