Gold Coast denies using loophole * AAP
* From: AAP
* February 23, 2010 6:23PMGOLD Coast coach Guy McKenna has denied the expansion club has already reached binding agreements with current AFL players, saying it would not be "in the true ethics of the game".
McKenna said speculation that players such as Geelong's Gary Ablett, Hawthorn's Campbell Brown or Richmond's Trent Cotchin might already have signed for the club's 2011 AFL debut season was "news to me".
"I wouldn't think generally speaking that's right in the true ethics of the game," McKenna said.
"I find that very hard to believe."
However, McKenna said the Gold Coast had an obligation to put together the best playing roster possible.
"The rules are there from a salary cap point of view for the uncontracted players coming out in 2010 and it would be derelict of my duty not to go after the best available," he said.
Asked to name the targeted players, he said the candidates were obvious.
"Blind Freddy would know who they are," he said.
While McKenna denied deals had already been done, he said the club had been busy sounding out players.
"Those players are going into a season and in some cases we've had a chat and in some cases we haven't," he said, as the club launched a campaign to attract 10,000 members before next year's debut.
"We'll have another window of opportunity, that comes up at the end of the season when we can do that again.
"It's all about those players going out and playing the best they can and performing.
"If they do that we'd still be interested in them but if they don't, we might go off them, who knows, that's the nature of football."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/gold-coast-denies-using-loophole/story-e6frf9jf-1225833582352
