Josh Fraser Biography

Gold Coast reserves coach Josh Fraser is leaving the Suns to return to Victoria.

Fraser has coached the club's NEAFL team the past two years and was offered a contract extension, but for family reasons is heading back to his home state.

"He made a huge sacrifice to relocate his family to Queensland twice to be a Gold Coast Sun, and we wish Josh and his family all the very best as they move closer to family and friends in Victoria," Gold Coast general manager of football operations Marcus Ashcroft said.

Fraser said it was a difficult decision to leave.

"I feel very fortunate to have been part of the Suns in both a playing and coaching capacity," Fraser said.

"My family and I look forward to watching the club continue to grow and succeed in the years to come."

Ex-Pie and Sun Josh Fraser says he is keen to take on a coaching role.

"I planned a fair way out that I wanted to move into coaching role, and I targeted development (coaching). A small part of the reason I went to the Gold Coast (at the end of 2010) was to gain more knowledge and experience working with a younger group," Fraser said.

"I just want to go into the system the right way, as opposed to going in all guns blazing and getting spat out pretty quickly. I feel well equipped for it."

Josh Fraser will next year play with at his junior club Mansfield in the Goulburn Valley league and will also serve as their assistant coach.

"I suppose originally I wasn't really keen on playing at all (in 2013)," Fraser said.

"I guess as time went by I thought that if I was going to play then Mansfield would be a great fit, because that's where I played my junior footy.

"I was always keen to come back and thank the club and the town for all the support they've given me, so it's going to be a good fit."

Match Review Panel chairman Mark Fraser has slammed Quentin Lynch's decision to launch recklessly into North player Scott McMahon during the Eagles' elimination final against North Melbourne.

"We believe that's breaching a duty of care as a player. If you go into a contest knees first like that, even though there is an attempt to hit the ball over there. We think that's worthy of charging," Fraser said.

"It does have the potential in the worst case scenario that you break somebody's back. It was a very forceful hit and we believe that's a charge."

Gold Coast ruckman Josh Fraser has called time on his 218-game career after two matches this season.

"I'm sure all our young rucks are better people and I think our club's a better place for having Josh Fraser in it," Suns coach Guy McKenna said.

"Off the field and in the NEAFL competition, what he's been able to do for our other rucks has certainly fast-tracked them into bona fide ruckmen."

Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna says veteran Josh Fraser is last in the pecking order of ruckman at the club.

"If we've got an opportunity to play a [young] tall ruck/forward and he and Josh are the same level, we're probably going to play a kid," McKenna said.

"If we need a tall ruck and Josh is there and we need someone to be picked and the rest of the boys are injured, Josh will get his opportunity. He's fully aware of that. He's known about that for a while."

The future of veteran ruckman Josh Fraser is in doubt after being overlooked for Saturday's clash with GWS despite Gold Coast being depleted in its ruck stocks due to injury.

Josh Fraser says he is not contemplating retirement yet despite being out of contract at the end of 2012.

"I'm absolutely not even thinking about it," he said.

"Even if I get through the year and feel good and have a good season, I'll still have a decision to make and have a conversation with Bluey (coach Guy McKenna). It's certainly not even in my thinking at this stage."

Josh Fraser says he is tiring of criticism of his disappointing form this season.

"I'm more surprised than anything and I shouldn't be, having spent so long in the game, but I just think some of the things that get thrown out are so far off the mark," he said.

"If people did their homework they'd realise I came off a month of not playing footy and really came off maybe two or three training sessions, so the plan was that I was going to spend more time forward and go through the middle at different stages and that'll increase as the weeks go on."

Josh Fraser says his relationship with Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna, who was an assistant at Collingwood, was the catalyst behind his move to the Suns.

"I'd spoken to 'Bluey' a fair bit . . . and in the middle part of the finals we had a conversation that turned towards what I may do next year, and from there the interest grew," Fraser said.

Josh Fraser says the pain of missing out on playing in Collingwood's premiership has been eased by joining Gold Coast.

"To miss out was disappointing but I guess having the opportunity to move to another club has put a bit of closure on that," he said.

"I can move forward and I'm really looking forward to the next two years."

Collingwood has received a third-round draft selection from the AFL after it lost ruckman Josh Fraser to Gold Coast.

Magpie Josh Fraser and Lion Jared Brennan will become Gold Coast's seventh and eighth experienced recruits on Thursday.

"We've always rolled out we'll probably take eight uncontracted players and that will be it, I'd say," Suns recruiter Scott Clayton said.

"We have tried to get a good mix of position and age and all those things, and we've ended up where we are today."

Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser says he will leave it to his coaches to decide whether he does enough to feature in the club's finals campaign.

"I'm not looking to kick five or six goals, but I'm looking to play the role that's asked of me ... the coaching staff will measure that and they will deem whether I've done enough," Fraser said.

Josh Fraser will finally play his 200th game after being selected in place of the suspended Leigh Brown.

The AFL tribunal has upheld Leigh Brown's striking charge and he will miss this week's match against Hawthorn leaving the door open for Josh Fraser to finally play in his 200th game.

Magpies coach Mick Malthouse says Josh Fraser is still a chance to play his 200th game this season despite toiling in the VFL since round 12 after playing his 199th game.

"The longer you are down there, it gets harder. With any sort of luck [for] Josh down the track, hopefully we'll get him his 200th. The danger with that is he's been down there for a long time," Malthouse said.

Josh Fraser and Tarkyn Lockyer are replaced by Heath Shaw and new recruit Darren Jolly in Collingwood's leadership group.

"He's only 23, 24 years old now, so it takes time to mature and time to mature into an AFL footballer, so that's something that he's worked on, and we're rapt that he's in there. He's done a lot of good things already," Magpies skipper said of Shaw.

"He's really taking on young guys now. He's not just playing his own game - he's really trying to help the team and develop the young guys."

Up to 12 players, including Paul Medhurst, Josh Fraser and John Anthony, will stay in Melbourne instead of joining their teammates at Collingwood's altitude camp in Arizona.

"We've probably got about 12 that are staying behind," David Buttifant said.

"It may be for technical reasons, purely to work on skills or it may be rehab from surgery."

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse hopes the addition of ruckman Darren Jolly will help the club win more ruck clearances.

"He's a premiership ruckman. He's competed against the best ruckmen and performed very well. We believe he will give us more offensive clearances," Malthouse said of Jolly while adding that the new addition may free up opportunities for Fraser to play in other areas of the ground.

"Josh might play as a ruck rover. He might play as a half-forward," Malthouse said.

Josh Fraser decides against surgery for a chronic problem in his right knee, opting instead to undergo intensive rehabilitation.

"The surgeon was looking at the possibility of a PCL reconstruction," Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said.

"That would have meant a long time on the sidelines. We'll go down the path of a really intensive quad strengthening program."

Magpie ruckman Cameron Wood says he and Josh Fraser can play together and thrive as Collingwood shape up for a showdown with Geelong in the preliminary final.

Wood was a replacement for Fraser in a semi-final against Adelaide after the latter was struggling with a knee injury.

"I think we can make a good combination, it's just the consistency of playing together which we've probably lacked a little bit," Wood said.

"We've probably played two games together, then been apart, then played another one here and there. So if we can string a few together I think we can make a good combo."

Josh Fraser undergoes knee surgery that will see him out of the Collingwood side for at least two weeks.

The Magpies' big man aggravated his knee against the Bulldogs in Round 15, but coach Mick Malthouse today said it was the remnants of the injury suffered in last year's Hall of Fame game.

"Josh will go in and have a little op, probably today or tomorrow," Malthouse said.

"It's just nagging, so we just needed to do something about it."

Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser says he'll have his work cut out against Sydney's Darren Jolly tonight.

"He's regarded as probably the in-form ruckman in the competition so it will be good to see where I sit," Fraser said.

"He's been a big part of the Swans make-up this year with obviously his strength for getting down on the ball and being able to push forward and kick goals."

Collingwood's Josh Fraser has been urged to play with greater intensity after he was accused of football's cardinal sin.

Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas accused Fraser of "dogging it" in a contest with Essendon's David Hille.

"To see Josh Fraser dog it when Hille ran at him when that ball was up for grabs, and jump out of the way, and then two minutes later for Hille to do his knee, which was terrible for him, it really set the scene for Collingwood," Thomas said on SEN radio.

"And then for Ryder, unannounced, to come into the ruck and take it to Fraser, who was really, really poor, was disappointing.

"It reinforced itself a bit later when Ryder came on and there were two tackles I remember that Fraser just let people just walk through him."

Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell defends teammate Josh Fraser after the Magpie ruckman was accused by Grant Thomas of having 'dogged it' against the Bombers.

"Because one person says something doesn't mean it's true. So one person makes a comment and people think that's gospel," Maxwell said.

"Anyone inside the club is all the opinion that matters. So Josh hasn't worried about it at all."

Assistant coach Brad Scott has defended ruckman Josh Fraser, who 'broke even' with Anzac Medallist Patrick Ryder.

"I've said to Josh, 'You play high-level sport then you expect criticism at some stage'," Scott said.

"Grant Thomas is a respected ex-coach who’s entitled to his opinion. You know, it's not one I happen to agree with, but the criticism that Josh has received he's got to deal with and move on."

Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh returned savage fire on Grant Thomas's accusation that Magpie ruckman Josh Fraser "dogged it".

"Talking about players dogging it, Grant might be eminently qualified," Walsh said.

Magpie Josh Fraser feels honored to be part of Collingwood's traditional Anzac Day clash against the Bombers.

"I always look forward to playing on Anzac Day," Fraser said.

"You gain a better understanding of what the Diggers went through and the history of Australia. It's great to be able to play a game of football and honour the Anzacs."

Geelong ruckman Mark Blake entered the clash with Collingwood knowing his role would be vital in the absence of injured teammate Brad Ottens.

Blake and youngster Trent West may not have been prolific ball-winners around the ground, but they at least established a clear dominance of their ruck duel with sole Magpie big man Josh Fraser.

St Kilda director Michael Nettlefold has emerged as a near-certainty to replace Archie Fraser as chief executive.

St Kilda chief executive Archie Fraser has resigned to run soccer's A-League domestic competition.

Magpies were flying high at the Port Melbourne Yacht Club yesterday as Josh Fraser tied the knot with long-time girlfriend Kylie Sutcliffe.

Josh Fraser signs a three-year contract with the Magpies, keeping him at Collingwood until the end of the 2010 season.

"I'm really excited about going forward with the club, particularly coming off the season we had this year," Fraser said. "I think there are some pretty good times ahead so I'm really happy to stay involved with the footy club."