James Tsitas is among six players delisted by the Gold Coast Suns after the club advised him he will not be offered a new contract for 2025.
Tsitas joined the club as a pre-season supplementary selection in 2022 and has played five AFL matches in his three seasons at the club, playing zero senior games this year.
In the VFL this year, across 14 games the Greek Australian averaged 26 disposals, 5.5 marks and 5.6 tackles.
The 29-year-old took on the role as VFL captain in 2023 and played an instrumental role in helping the club claim its first VFL premiership, despite missing the grand final through suspension.
Gold Coast farewelled Tsitas along with Darcy Macpherson, Jack Mahony, Sandy Brock, Oskar Faulkhead and Will Rowlands.
GC Suns General Manager of Player Talent and Strategy Craig Cameron acknowledged the contributions the six players had made to the club.
“Darcy, James, Jack, Sandy, Oskar and Will have all had unique journeys to the AFL and we commend them for all the hard work and dedication they have invested in our club over the years,” Cameron said in a club announcement.
“We sincerely thank them for their service to the SUNS and wish them all the best for the next stage of their careers on and off the field.”
Tsitas leaves the club having had the opportunity to achieve a lifelong dream, eight years after he first became eligible as a teenager.
The 2013 AFL draft, the first in which Tsitas was eligible, would come and go without luck.
He decided to stick with football and try to make it while also studying a Bachelor of Exercise Science.
In 2017 he won the Best and Fairest at the Geelong Falcons before going one better and winning the Magarey Medal in the SANFL in 2021 to go with three premierships in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
He sits alongside footy greats Michael Long, Shaun Burgoyne and Eddie Betts as the only footballers to have played in the AFL, VFL, SANFL and NTFL.
