While season 2014 was one of massive improvement for the Gold Coast Suns, there are still some lessons that must be learnt if the club are to finally break through for a finals appearance in 2015.
Their surge from easy-beats to serious contenders saw the club finish Round 10 in third place on the ladder, but from there a deadly mixture of a season-ending injury to captain Gary Ablett Jr and poor form saw the club crash to 12th place at year’s end.
While the Suns will be disappointed at the way their hard work unraveled in the second half of the year, it’s still something the club must learn from going forward. When Gary Ablett Jr eventually retires, who will lead them into the next phase?
Let’s review the Suns’ 2014 season and see what went right and wrong for the club this year.
Gold Coast Suns
Final ladder position: 12th (10 wins, 12 losses, 93.7%)
Rising Star nominees: Kade Kolodjashnij (Round 10), Jack Martin (Round 23)
Retirees/delistees: Campbell Brown (sacked), Nathan Bock, Tom Murphy, Karmichael Hunt, Jackson Allen, Jack Hutchins, Jeremy Taylor, Matthew Warnock, Leigh Osborne
What went right?
As many expected them to this year, the Gold Coast Suns improved vastly on the field in 2014, going from eight wins last year to ten, thus cracking double-digits in their win column for the first time.
This included thrashing older cousins the Brisbane Lions in Round 3, as well as defeating fellow expansion side GWS in Round 6 and eventual semi-finalists North Melbourne in Round 7.
Additionally, Gary Ablett Jr built on from his Brownlow Medal-winning season last year, with each individual excellent performance shortening his odds of becoming the first repeat Medallist since Robert Harvey in 1997-8.
And while his season ended prematurely due to a shoulder injury, the Suns finally learnt to win without him, albeit being against last-placed St Kilda in Round 19, with Ablett doing some coaching alongside Guy McKenna in the box.
What went wrong?
While the Suns did enjoy some impressive victories in 2014 and improved their on-field position as many expected them to, the gulf between them and the powerhouses of the AFL was brutally exposed in heavy losses to Fremantle, Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans by an average of 58.75 points.
It shows just how much the Suns must improve if they are to eventually become an AFL powerhouse themselves – and not even Ablett Jr himself can help the Suns get to where they want to be.
Speaking of Ablett, his season-ending injury against Collingwood in Round 16 would affect the team’s fortunes on the field, and while they were still in with the chance of reaching the finals for the first time, never at any stage after his injury did they feel like doing so.
The club fell away badly after Round 10 as already mentioned, winning only three matches to finish the season poorly and crashing to 12th after being as high as third at the end of May.
Best win: Round 14 versus Geelong at Metricon Stadium (won 17.16 (118) to 11.12 (78))
This has got to without a doubt go down as being one of the Gold Coast Suns’ most significant victories in their short history.
Normally in a winning Suns match it would be Gary Ablett Jr who would be the star, but this time it was Harley Bennell who stole the show in a five-star performance against the premiers of 2007, 2009 and 2011.
Originally drafted in 2010, Bennell produced easily the best performance of his AFL career, kicking six goals and gathering 27 disposals, six less than the ex-Cat.
Worst loss: Round 18 versus Brisbane Lions at the Gabba (lost 8.8 (56) to 16.14 (110)
Just over a month since that memorable victory over the Cats, however, the Suns crashed to their worst performance for the year when they submitted an uncompetitive effort against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in Round 18.
A lot had changed in the intervention, including the season-ending shoulder injury incurred by Gary Ablett in the narrow victory over Collingwood earlier in July. Without their captain, the Suns appeared leaderless as the Lions made amends for their loss in the earlier-season QClash with seven goals in the first quarter.
It sent a dagger through the Suns’ fading finals hopes and although they were able to defeat last-placed St Kilda the following round, the Suns would never recover from that defeat psychologically or mentally.
There was also a 99-point loss to Hawthorn at home earlier in the season, as mentioned before exposing the gulf between a young club continuing to find their feet and a club that has well established itself under Alastair Clarkson.
The future
The Gold Coast Suns have had four completed seasons in the AFL now and after failing to reach the finals in any of them, there are no excuses for the club to continue to under-perform in 2015.
On the best positive note, Gary Ablett should be back in time for the opening round next year, and so too should any other player who failed to finish the season due to other injuries.
The club’s concession privileges are also about to come to an end, with the club expected to operate just like every other AFL team from next season onwards, with the exception of the GWS Giants, who have been given until 2019 to shape their list to the AFL standard.
That said, the Suns have cut down their list further, with the pre-Christmas sacking of Campbell Brown, the return to rugby union of Karmichael Hunt and the retirement of foundation player Nathan Bock, among the departures from the holiday strip.
The club has also experienced a change as far as their best-and-fairest was concerned, with David Swallow becoming the first player other than Ablett to win the Suns’ Club Champion Award. Could that be an indication as to where the Suns will head after the Sachin Tendulkar of the AFL retires?
Suns fans will be hoping so. And they will be hoping that the club can continue to build on its strong efforts from this year, while at the same time hoping that Ablett can last a long-enough 2015 season so that he can lead them into September for the first time.
Because if the Suns are to make the finals for the first time, they’ll want to make sure Ablett is part of it, and also part of the club’s maiden premiership, if they can win one before he retires.
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