‘Amazing what happens when valued’: Suns’ missing piece
Murray Wenzel |
John Noble is happy to be a “puzzle piece” in Gold Coast’s historic AFL finals march after coach Damien Hardwick recruited him, confident he was among the few missing ones.
The Suns will play the club’s first finals game in Perth on Saturday, in an elimination final against Fremantle.
An upset win would drop them into a sudden-death QClash semi-final against the Brisbane Lions, who lost to Geelong at the MCG on Friday night.
The former Collingwood halfback is just one of three Suns with AFL finals experience.
He’s played seven of them, with just a three-game wait for his first in 2019.
The Suns have waited 15 seasons, with David Swallow set to finally taste September action after 247 AFL games.
But the 28-year-old Noble has his own complicated relationship with September, playing 83-straight games for the Magpies only to be dropped for the finals when Collingwood won the 2023 flag.
Former Richmond coach Hardwick was hunting a certain type of defender so he brought in Noble and Tigers premiership star Daniel Rioli this year to great effect.
Noble has averaged career-highs in disposals, kicks, handballs and marks while making 535 metres of ground, compared to 362 across his 135-game career.
“It’s amazing what happens when you feel valued … Dimma (Hardwick) got me across and I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t think the club was ready to win finals,” Noble told AAP.
“To be a puzzle piece in that legacy is something I’ll cherish forever.
“But the finish line for us isn’t just making finals.”
Three-time premiership player Rioli and Ben Long, who has played just one, are the other two men with September experience.
Noble thinks the Suns’ loss to Port Adelaide in the final round, in what was Power star Travis Boak and coach Ken Hinkley’s farewell, was the next best thing to a finals game.
“It’s hard to put into words, because you don’t really know until you experience it,” he said.
“But we had a bit of a snippet against Port with how hot that was.
“To be exposed to that pressure and noise was a bit of a gift in disguise.
“There’s just less time to make decisions, hit a kick, receive a handball.
“So just be sharper … it’s one of those things, you jump in the deep end and it galvanises the team.”
AAP
