A PAIR of Gold Coast Academy prospects earned their maiden state league outings for 2025, both showing promise in the Suns’ 55-point loss to Southport on Saturday. Namely, tough midfielder Koby Coulson made his third VFL appearance, while the versatile Cooper Collins debuted down back.

Both prospects represented Queensland at U17 level last year and were called up to the Allies’ preseason camp, while also spending time training with Gold Coast’s senior group. They got their campaigns underway in the recent Northern Academy series and will partake in a CTL stint, starting on Saturday.

We put their performances under the Player Focus microscope.

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SUNS AcademyMidfielder

Koby Coulson

Height: 178cm

Weight: -

DOB: 31-07-2007

#47 Koby Coulson (Gold Coast Suns)
Stats: 13 disposals, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 4 inside 50s, 84.6% disposal efficiency

Coulson pinch-hit in the midfield with one or two centre bounce attendances per quarter, but also cut his teeth in the forward half and out on a wing. He would be made to learn lessons against hardened opposition early in the piece, lining up against Sharks ball magnet Jacob Dawson at his first stoppage.

Dawson threw the youngster aside before hunting the ball, only for Coulson to get back to his feet and show terrific endeavour to lay a tackle in the same passage. He later waxed with Brayden Fiorini and Alex Davies at the restarts, marking Boyd Woodcock to compound the AFL experience surrounding him.

Coulson showcased a clean set of hands on several occasions, working hard into space between the arcs to take uncontested marks and move the ball on quickly. Some of his use by foot could have been more refined, often wheeling around and booting it long to contests inside 50 without any specific target.

His running capacity was useful out on the wing as he tracked back and was able to become a link in the transitional chain. Coulson’s short kicking was inconsistent but neat in those instances and he was quite slick by hand, taking the ball with one touch before flicking it off nicely.

>> Preseason Q&A: Koby Coulson (Suns Academy)

A play which highlighted Coulson’s competitiveness came in term three where he was knocked off the ball by Zac Foot, but again popped back up to apply pressure with a second effort. He looked lively when peeling off forward off the ball from stoppage, but the Suns lacked refinement heading inside 50.

Having gained senior exposure with two VFL games last year, Coulson settled in relatively well this time out. He has the resilience and toughness to compete at the level and despite being smaller in stature, is clean and fundamentally sound on the inside. On the outside or up forward, his work rate shines.

With the Suns having so many Academy prospects this year, particularly three in first round contention, players like Coulson and Collins may be there for other clubs to snap up down the line. There remains a chance the Suns cannot retain all their talent despite their inevitable efforts to adjust to the new draft value index.

>> Under 18 Champs: Why the 2025 Allies can repeat history

SUNS AcademyUtility

Cooper Collins

Height: 183cm

Weight: -

DOB: 13-11-2007

#53 Cooper Collins (Gold Coast Suns)
Stats: 9 disposals, 5 marks (1 contested), 1 tackle, 4 intercept possessions

Having mostly cut his teeth as a forward over the last couple of years, Collins made his VFL debut in defence. The move made sense considering Collins’ size and ability to compete aerially, while also offering strong overlap run and consistent work rate.

He was first sighted playing the goalkeeper in Gold Coast’s defensive goalsquare, nervously spoiling a kick over the line to get into the game. The youngster would go on to produce a couple of much more confident highlights as he began to find his feet.

Collins’ best moment for the day came in term two as he spung up to take a speccy on the wing, entering third into the contest. He also laid a terrific rundown tackle in the following quarter, showing great persistence to stick the chase on Josh Gore.

His application was generally there in a defensive sense, applying pressure and attempting more tackles than he was given credit for (one). Collins generally picked off short passes by foot, though ran at only 55.6 per cent disposal efficiency for the day.

He was perhaps a little too cute when looking to pass inboard, going on to take safer options in the latter stages of the match. He also had a couple of rebounding forays, including a running bounce on the overlap in term two to showcase his running game.

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