AFL 2023: Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane resigns after seven years

Cochrane, known as one of the most outspoken voices in the AFL and a fierce defender of football on the Gold Coast, will hand over the reins at the end of the first round.

Cochrane’s deputy Bob East is elected chairman.

Cochrane has been in the role since taking office in March 2016, having joined the Suns board two years earlier, and has overseen the club’s stabilization after a difficult first few years.

He announced his decision to the Gold Coast Suns players and staff on Wednesday morning.

Cochrane admitted late last year that he felt his time in the role was coming to an end.

He told SEN at the time, “I’m starting to think that maybe it’s a good thing for Tony Cochrane to consider retiring in the near future…there’s probably going to be a lot of people who I suspect will be in the media.” are very happy to see them. My ass is going out the door.”

Cochrane made his name as a promoter who brought Frank Sinatra back to Australia and made V8 supercars one of Australian sport’s greatest success stories, but his tireless work in guiding the Gold Coast Suns through some difficult times will also become one of his greatest count legacies.

This passion for the Suns frequently put him at odds with Victorian clubs and sometimes even the AFL, who insisted they botched the birth of the club in its early years.

He also played a key role behind the scenes in helping Queensland secure the historic 2020 AFL Grand Final – the first to be staged outside of Victoria – in the first year of the Covid pandemic.

Cochrane and his board fired Suns coach Rodney Eade in 2017 and played a key role in appointing Stuart Dew as Gold Coast coach.

His board supported Dew last season and landed him a new contract that has made him the club’s longest-serving AFL coach.

Cochrane played a role in trying to stem the exodus of players from the Suns and wasn’t afraid to spray departing players, including Izak Rankine late last year when he said: “Money talks, huh? There is someone with a big purse that makes it quite difficult.”

Why Giants rookie didn’t drink water for ‘five or six days’

– Rebekah Williams

Greater West Sydney rookie Jason Gilbee has revealed his milk obsession after his amazing intake of the dairy drink was revealed.

Gilbee sent the internet into a frenzy this week after it was revealed during a preseason bonding practice that the Giant had replaced his water intake with milk in his freshman year three years ago.

Gilbee has always been a lover of the cold white drink and revealed he had switched to dairy almost exclusively after his milk cravings got the better of him.

“Me and my younger brother, we’ve always drank a lot of milk, but it was probably about three years ago that I (determined that I) would just prefer water and I would get thirsty and just crave milk instead of water to rehydrate myself,” Gilbee said.

“It’s just a really weird thing. Then I moved in with a family in Bendigo at the start of 10th grade, but they only had diet milk, so I had to switch to diet milk for a year.

“I don’t know. I just prefer the taste, I find water to be pretty boring so I just prefer the taste of milk over water.

“I used to be at school sometimes and I’d be like, ‘Gosh, I haven’t had any water in five or six days, I’d better go to the bubbler for a sip.'”

The 18-year-old still drinks milk all day – only on the training track in the summer.

But as soon as Gilbee gets off the track – and when he’s working out at the gym – the first thing he does is grab a glass of milk.

“I still drink water on track and in practice, but out there I could easily use milk,” Gilbee said.

“If it could stay cold outside I’d probably drink milk, but just because it’s getting a bit warm I have to drink water.

“But I get off the track and then I have a glass of milk or at the gym I have a glass of milk…. and I don’t drink water at home.”

Gilbee’s milk consumption initially shocked Melissa Juergens, Giants’ nutritionist, but he was encouraged to increase his water intake.

“She didn’t really believe it at first,” Gilbee said.

“They are very big on hydration and drinking water and carry around water bottles. When I work out I have to drink a bit of water when I work out and carry around a water bottle, but when I’m home I can somehow sneak around and drink my milk.

“It’s a really weird thing, but I seem to be adequately hydrated just with the milk I’m drinking.”

Gilbee shares a house with Giants teammates Aaron Cadman and Max Gruzewski, and the midfielder estimated household milk consumption – most of which was his own – at over 10 liters a week

But he admitted his milk drinking sometimes annoyed his housemates.

“The boys only have their cereal and I have the rest,” Gilbee said.

“There have been some complaints. I wake up a little early and they wake up and have their cereal in the bowl and there won’t be any milk left, so that’s a bit annoying.

“I kind of get there first.”

GWS ruck trainer Shane Mumford has already nicknamed Gilbee ‘Milky’ and the rookie was certain a milk-themed nickname would stick.

“‘Milky’ was[used]a little bit, Shane Mumford started it, and then Finn Callaghan continued that,” Gilbee said.

“I got ‘Milky’ a little bit, but I have a feeling there’s going to be something that’s going to stick with it.

“When I took it to the meeting, it was flying around the club, it was pretty funny.

“They thought it was quite strange. But there are actually a couple of guys who are going to have a glass with me now, so hopefully we can work something out.

Tony Cochrane, originally released as Gold Coast chairman, is stepping down after seven years