AFLRATINGS NEWS: The role for the 2025 season for Sam Flanders is yet to be confirmed but he has indicated his preferred position.Â
After starting the season in a mid/fwd role which included centre bounce usage under new Gold Coast senior coach Damien Hardwick Flanders changed position at Round 4 (Gather Round) to a pure half-back role.Â
He wasn’t used at kick-ins in his first game in defence but over the next 9 games Flanders was used at 54.3% of team kick-ins. He was a late withdrawal in Round 11 due to illness.
In that 9th game Flanders was also used through the midfield, Hardwick said following that game he was looking to change things through the middle of the ground which included centre bounces.Â
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The very next week Flanders found himself as a pure inside midfielder, he was used at 80.2% of team centre bounces over the next 6 games averaging 31.8 disposals.
For the final 3 games of the H&A season he returned to a mid/fwd role averaging 26.0 disposals, he was used at 5.8% of team centre bounces over the same period. Touk Miller returned for the final 2 games of the H&A season while Hardwick was also looking ahead to next season trialling players through the midfield including Alex Davies.Â
Flanders said recently that his career is starting to settle now with the trust and belief provided by the coaching staff at the Suns (via SEN).Â
He added that he is enjoying his role as a half-forward and moving up to stoppage situations while also acknowledging it’s hard to pass up a midfield role.Â
Flanders averaged 30.9 disposals from 22 games in the 2024 H&A season (AF Ave: 107.8).Â
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PLAYER CARD: Sam Flanders
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