Updated July 13, 2026 — 6:47pm,first published 3:48pm

Suns’ chairman says Gold Coast season ‘still alive’ after Hardwick comments

Peter Ryan

Gold Coast chairman Bob East is adamant the Suns’ “season is still alive” despite coach Damien Hardwick’s shock declaration that their 2026 campaign was “effectively gone” in the post-match media conference after their 79-point loss to Adelaide.

The Suns’ season has been in free fall since they defeated Port Adelaide in Darwin in round 10 to sit fourth on the ladder.

They have since lost seven games on the trot and slumped to 14th, but they remain just one win and percentage from 10th placed St Kilda. Under this year’s finals system, the team finishing 10th will play 7th in a wildcard final.

“We are in it to win every game we possibly can and I don’t think anyone at the club sees it any differently,” East said.

“In the heat of the moment, the comments could derive from disappointment which we all share.”

Hardwick’s comments raised eyebrows across the competition as every other club in contention is continuing to scrap for a spot in the finals with six matches remaining.

East said everyone at the club, including the coach, was committed to “looking at every angle to see how they could turn it around quickly”.

The Suns made the finals for the first time in their history last season and defeated Fremantle in the elimination final in Perth before eventual premiers, the Brisbane Lions, bundled them out of the race in the semi-final.

“Everything we have discussed with ‘Dimma’ [shows me] we are on the same page. I know that as a club we are in to win every game,” East said.

The Suns’ midfield has been deplorable since May after a brilliant season in 2025 which saw Matt Rowell win the Brownlow Medal and Noah Anderson share the AFL Coaches Association MVP with Geelong’s Bailey Smith.

Young key forward Jed Walter is set to re-commit to the club for three years but the Suns have been unable to lock away restricted free agent Ben King. Hawthorn are keen on securing the key forward.

Collingwood fight to clear Frampton

Collingwood will challenge defender Billy Frampton’s one-match ban at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday.

Frampton was cited for rough conduct for an incident with North Melbourne’s Matt Whitlock in the fourth quarter of their clash on Friday night.

Frampton tackled Whitlock to ground near the goal square and the act was assessed as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact which equalled a one-match suspension.

The challenging of Frampton’s ban ahead of Saturday night’s crunch match against Carlton comes as the Magpies face the prospect of being without a recognised and seasoned key defender unless Frampton is cleared.

Collingwood have brought in mid-season pick Liam Puncher to fill the breach, in the absence of skipper Darcy Moore who is gone for the season.

Frampton is greatly improved as a tall back and the Pies would not have a suitable opponent for Harry McKay – Puncher being much less powerful or experienced – if Frampton remains suspended.

Frampton’s tackle was ruled dangerous when Whitlock was taken from behind and dispossessed, leading to a free, advantage call and goal to the Kangaroos.

The tribunal case is due to be heard on Tuesday night.

The Magpies are hopeful of regaining important defender Isaac Quaynor who has missed the past two games with an ankle/foot injury.

Cameron surgery blow: Cat out for more than a month

Peter Ryan
Geelong could be without star forward Jeremy Cameron until the end of the home-and-away season as he undergoes surgery this week to repair his injured left AC joint.

The Cats said he will miss four to six weeks recovering from the surgery meaning they will be without their leading goalkicker as they fight to claim a finals spot.

Cameron was playing in defence on Saturday when he clashed with the Giants’ Clayton Oliver as they contested a ground ball. The move was designed to kickstart his season after a patch of poor form inside 50.

He has kicked 39 goals despite still being impacted by the broken right arm he suffered in last year’s grand final.

Cats’ duo Tanner Bruhn (neck) and Jack Henry (throat) are also in doubt for Thursday night’s vital clash against St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium.

St Kilda have won three of their past four matches but have lost their past 13 matches at GMHBA Stadium and have not experienced victory at the venue since 1999.

Clubs to blame for stand rule confusion: former ump

One of the AFL’s most experienced former umpires has blamed clubs for confusion over the stand rule and called on the league to do more to promote its officials.

Shane McInerney, who umpired 500 games including two grand finals, suggested the AFL could announce an accuracy rate for decisions after each round to “take a bit of the oxygen out of the craziness” created by the relentless media cycle.

Umpire Matt Stevic was criticised for paying a 50-metre penalty to Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan after calling “play on”, appearing to realise his mistake midway through the “play on” call as the player on the mark reacted.

McInerney suggested the job was getting harder with all the rule and interpretation changes.

“The umpire is trying to keep his eye on the player with the ball, to make sure ... [he sees if] he plays on, [that] there’s no pretend handpasses, making sure the players running past aren’t going into the protected area,” McInerney told Nine News.

He suspected clubs and players did not understand the stand rule properly.

“Clubs and players are treating it like it’s a game of freeze. That is not the intent of the law,” he said.

“They will actually stand off to the side like their feet are stuck in concrete. The umpire ... just wants someone to stand on the mark. [That suggests] some of the clubs just aren’t really across the finer points of the rule.”

McInerney said Stevic had made an error but called on the AFL to provide more objective data.

“The AFL can do a lot more promoting of umpires. Come out and say for these games we had 95% decision accuracy.

“Take a bit of the oxygen out of the craziness.”

McInerney also said it was time to consider full-time umpires at least at the start of their careers.

Coaches Association calls for security step-up

Peter Ryan
The AFL Coaches Association has expressed concern about coaches being forced to mingle with the crowd while walking from the coaches box to the ground to address their players after Suns’ coach Damien Hardwick was the latest coach to have words with a spectator at Adelaide Oval.

Hardwick’s exchange at three-quarter time of Gold Coast’s loss to Adelaide was relatively innocuous with the Suns’ coach admitting he needed to “be better” than falling into the trap of responding to “peanuts” in the crowd.

The incident follows an incident during the round 13 match between Adelaide and Geelong when a Crows supporter yelled something at Cats’ coach Chris Scott which prompted the Geelong coach to stop before speaking to security.

Scott said he didn’t think coaches should be forced to walk through the crowd to get to the playing surface.

Coaches’ Association boss Alistair Nicholson said work should be done to increase the match-day safety of coaches.

“We’ve raised this issue with the AFL previously, and we continue to encourage them to work with Adelaide Oval to identify ways to increase match-day safety for all coaches, as well as other venues where coaches are required to walk through the crowd to access the playing arena,” Nicholson said.

The AFL was contacted for comment.

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Peter Ryan is a sports reporter with The Age.Connect via X or email.

Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.

Roy Ward is a sports writer, live blogger and breaking news journalist. He's been writing for The Age since 2010.Connect via X or email.