GOLD Coast chief executive Mark Evans has taken a thinly veiled swipe at Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley following Tom Lynch's announcement he wants out of the Suns.

Buckley revealed last week he had met with the former Gold Coast captain in-person as the 25-year-old explored his restricted free agency options.

ON THE MOVE Lynch tells Suns he wants out

Following Lynch's announcement on Thursday, Evans said the entire saga could have been handled differently.

"The last two weeks haven't been terrific for the code I don't think, in terms of this issue," Evans said.

"It's difficult to be false when you're asked a question, but it's also difficult sometimes to completely blurt out everything, and I think we'd be in a different spot if that hadn't happened."

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Evans conceded the Suns had pushed Lynch hard for an answer because it "felt like the right thing for Gold Coast".

"I'm not sure you can have your cake and eat it too, we'd probably have preferred it wasn't public," he said.

Suns coach Stuart Dew spoke with Buckley on Thursday night, but said there was no animosity between either the coaches or clubs. 

"He was ringing out of courtesy and I think he went on radio the next day and said if he had his time again he probably wouldn't have put it on the radar," Dew said.

"I think he was aware that put it in the public eye and did change the look of it."

Dew said he did not feel disrespected by the Magpies openly chasing the Suns' co-captain.

He said it was something that happened all the time, but unfortunately Lynch's situation got out into the public.

"A lot of ex-captains talk about conversations they had with different clubs … Nick Riewoldt and Sam Mitchell have talked about it recently, so things come out later," Dew added.

"This one came out at the time. I think everyone in the industry knows things happen.

In terms of (lack of) respect, I don't think that's an issue." 

Evans said following the loss of Dion Prestia, Jaeger O'Meara and Gary Ablett over recent years, and now Lynch's request to leave, Gold Coast would change the club's perception over time.

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