Some say Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett has been carrying the Suns on his shoulders for the last three years.
It seems apt, then, that it is his shoulder that has given way and brought about a history-defining period for his young club.
With the season-ending injury to Ablett, the Suns now face what Homer Simpson would describe as a ‘crisortunity’ – an opportunity borne of crisis.
While a great deal of the talk from pundits centres around whether Ablett could still win the Brownlow, the club will be more focused on how to make it to their maiden finals series without their leader.
Judging by their spirited last quarter against Collingwood at the weekend, confidence should be high.
With no fit players on the bench, Gold Coast had a taste of football from a bygone era. Players accustomed to rotating off the ground two or three times a quarter had to resort to the old-fashioned ‘rest in the pocket’. Not only that, they had to will themselves to each contest with bodies probably more tired than at any other time in their careers.
That quarter of football will become known in years to come as the moment the Suns really came of age. From this point on these players can recall on that any time they are challenged in a game. They will have the belief that they can win in exceptionally trying circumstances.
It’s not all about belief when it comes to playing finals footy, of course. The personnel capable of getting the job done is also required. Take a cursory glance over the Suns team sheet and you will see they have that in abundance.
A midfield of David Swallow, Dion Prestia, Harley Bennell and Jaeger O’Meara would be welcomed into almost any other club in the competition. Steven May is a smoky for an All-Australian defender. Tom Lynch and Sam Day are starting to assert themselves as tall forwards.
The time has come for that group to take the next step. They have put into practice the lessons Ablett was brought to the Gold Coast to teach: preparation, leadership, work rate. They now have the opportunity to show they can perform those tasks without him on the field.
There is no precedent for the job in front of the Suns. Never in the history of the game has a team been on the cusp of their first finals appearance, only to lose the best player in the competition.
They have at least four winnable games in their last seven. If they win those they will finish the year at 13-9 and the dream of finals will become reality.
It will be a tragedy to see Ablett missing from the side he has worked so hard to build come finals time. Conversely, it will mean so much more to the players to know they have achieved that feat without him.
The opportunity has presented itself. It is time for these boys to become men.
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