Gold Coast have put themselves in a position to challenge for a debut finals berth but coach Stuart Dew is determined not to make their push about him.
Dew got on the front foot by declaring himself the man to lead the Suns just as former Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was being talked about as his potential successor.
Gold Coast then delivered an impressive seven-point win over the Western Bulldogs in Darwin on Saturday night.
When asked if his players had been showing they backed him with the statement performance, Dew replied: “You’d have to ask the players.
“I certainly don’t make it about myself. I’m here to serve the players, as everyone else is at the footy club, and get them as best as we can.
“We’ve created an environment where they can see a future going forward, and success, so that’s important and I feel proud that they’re committed to that.
“The journey of our footy club is only short but … we feel like a real footy club now and players want to be here – we’re not paying a premium, we’re paying what they’re worth and they’re giving it back as much as what they take.
“It’s really important that we stay the course but it’s certainly not about individuals, no footy club is, and I’m not going to make it about myself.
“But what we do know is we’re committed to a journey together and I think we’ll just keep cracking away at that and have a good time getting after it.”
Dew tried to keep his focus on the task at hand, not his future.
“There’s the friendship part and then there’s the professional part and we try and get that balance right because, at the end of the day, we’re here to win as many games of footy as possible,” he said.
“That’s what the players want and that’s my job and that’s why I try not to listen to anything external because I want my focus firmly on that: how do I serve the players?”
The Suns now sit at 5-6 and in touch with the top eight ahead of next week’s clash with Adelaide.
“Footy clubs that I’ve been at that go deep into finals and have gone all the way, certainly don’t talk finals in May and June,” Dew said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we get our ducks in a row for next week: recover well, pick a team that we think will beat the Adelaide footy club and go from there.
“I know it’s not the answer everyone wants – but absolutely we’re aiming to play finals.”
