It will never be a Sandman panel van. If it is ever seen as a Sandman it'll be as a Sandman ute, with a canopy.

At the end of the day the VE Thunder ute is essentially the modern version of the Sandman. It fits most criteria that the old girls set:

Available as 6cyl or V8.
Available on different models - SV6 and SS (HQ-HJ available on Belmont/Holden and Kingswood).
Comes as the base vehicle does, but gives you mandatory options over and above the base vehicle eg trim, wheels, sat nav, badges etc as a cheaper package than if you optioned all those things separately.
Relatively limited edition (not so much so in HX-HZ where it was essentially a volume "model").

Just my thoughts anyway. If I was etting up judging classes in the future, a VZ ute with a canopy would be judged as a ute as it is called a ute on its tags.