"Let’s not wait or let the light go off in the back part of the contract, I’d like to think we could talk to him much earlier than that. I think he’s been worth every dollar for us so far, so let’s give him some reward for what he’s been able to do and not wait until the fifth year.

"We’re only two-and-a-half years in and it’s not something we’d be talking to him about yet, but he’s delivered in spades and with the form he’s in, I think we’ll be wanting to have him around for a lot longer than two more years."

The Suns have already re-signed the bulk of their young talent, with onballer Dion Prestia the latest to recommit, and McKenna hoped that when Ablett’s contract expired at the end of 2015, Gold Coast would be "around the corner" from some lasting success.

"I try to explain to all the boys that if you can play above the normal four-year average of an AFL player and get to a 10- or 12-year career, you want to spend as much time as you can playing finals and giving yourself a chance to win a premiership," he said.

"I’m not saying it will happen this year, but next [year] we’d like to think we’ll be knocking on the door and when these boys are starting to hit 80 to 100 games, then I think we’ll be in that window and pushing for some success for a long period of time.