We may be naïve, but it seems as though the best time to bring a new list manager on before the draft, rather than after, but all the same, with no implication that the powers of the Gold Coast Suns are not exactly the alpha hopper in the mob, they will retain Scott Clayton until after the draft, leaving the new man, Craig Cameron, to deal with the draft outcome.
Mark Evan, CEO of the Suns, is nearing the end of his purge. Clayton was the last remaining senior figure at the club.
The most recent move comes hard on the heels of the GWS Giants ejecting list manager Craig Cameron when they found out of his intention to join Gold Coast.
The disarray at the Suns seems to provide an inexhaustible amount of fodder for commentators. There were some who thought that the business between the Suns and the Giants was due in some fashion to a feud between expansion clubs, but in the first place, it was always doubtful that Clayton was going to be outed by the Suns after the sacking of coach Rodney Eade and football manager Marcus Ashcroft.
Still, the timing seems a bit off. It is the latest in a series of bungling that seems to haunt the Suns at all levels.
The Suns had hoped to keep Clayton’s departure under wraps until after the draft, and then present it as a mutual decision, but that fell apart, obviously.
Gold Coast is looking for a football manager to replace Ashcroft and they have floated the idea that Cameron might include at least some of those duties in his new role as list boss.
Cameron might well be sent onto the ground as well, as it seems that the Suns value versatility. Cameron also has some experience gained from his role in horseracing for BC3 Thoroughbreds. Further back, he was the general manager of the Richmond Football Club, but left to try his fortune with the horse set when the stress of working for the Tigers got the better of him.
