WITH the 2021 AFL Draft done and dusted, Rookie Me Central takes a look through each clubs’ hauls to assess the areas they bolstered and what each fresh face promises to bring to their new side. Next under the microscope is Gold Coast, whose early selection helped shape the top 10 before some valuable experience was brought in.

National Draft selections:

#5 Mac Andrew (Dandenong Stingrays)
#63 Charlie Constable (Geelong)

Preseason Draft selections:

#1 Rory Thompson (re-listed)

Rookie Draft selections:

#3 Levi Casboult (Carlton)
#18 Jez McLennan (re-listed)

Pre-listed rookie selections:

Sandy Brock (Peel Thunder/Suns Academy)
Bodhi Uwland (Suns Academy)

The Suns’ plan was originally to be one and done in the National Draft, but that changed when North Melbourne snapped up Hugh Greenwood as a delisted free agent. It meant that after key position prospect Mac Andrew went at pick five, the Suns brought in a readymade midfield replacement in delisted Geelong midfielder Charlie Constable.

One of the more versatile talls available, and one with an enormously high ceiling, Andrew offers some long-term ruck depth for Gold Coast and the potential to develop at either end of the ground. At 201cm, his skills and competitiveness appealed to the Queensland club within the top 10. He could be anything.

Constable then made sense at pick 63, with former Carlton tall Levi Casboult also landing in the Sunshine State via the Suns’ first rookie selection. Jez McLennan came next as a re-listed player, and Rory Thompson was another who regained his spot on the list via the preseason draft.

As per continued draft concessions afforded by the AFL, Gold Coast was also able to pre-list a couple of academy tied players. Academy player of the year, Bodhi Uwland was a leading candidate and promises to add some power to the defence-midfield rotation. Northern Territory native Sandy Brock was also selected after impressing as an athletic key defender for Peel Thunder this season.