The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

2017 season review: Gold Coast Suns

Suns players walk from the field during the Round 5 AFL match between the Gold Coast Suns and the Adelaide Crows at Metricon Stadium in Carrara on the Gold Coast, Saturday, April 22, 2017. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Editor
28th August, 2017
2

Just about everything that could have gone wrong for Gold Coast in 2017 did go wrong, in arguably their most dispiriting AFL campaign to date.

While talk of the club being wrapped up or shipped to Tasmania is nonsense, the amount of punishment this club and its fanbase have endured has been nothing short of backbreaking.

What I predicted
“Young teams can turn the corner very quickly, but this was a bad list in 2016 and, in terms of its ability to make an impact in 2017, has gone further backward.

“Another long year on the Gold Coast.”

Prediction: 18th

What actually happened
The first half of the year was a mixed bag, with the club suffering losses to Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide in China, while also knocking off the Hawks twice, as well as Geelong.

At the halfway point they were 5-6 and in reach of a finals spot, but only collected one more win as they finished the season in second last, riding a seven-game losing streak.

Third-year coach Rodney Eade quit with three games remaining, but those three games, rather demoralisingly, proved to be some of their worst performances of the year

Advertisement

The constant speculation about Gary Ablett’s future turned into a bigger saga than it needed to be, while injuries once again prevented some of their more experienced campaigners from putting games together.

That said, there were some relatively undiscussed positives for the Suns in 2017.

Metricon Stadium was no fortress, but it wasn’t a holiday destination for visiting teams either. Gold Coast won four of their ten games at the venue this season, while their average losing margin at home was a full five goals less than it was away.

Obviously, an average losing margin of 57 points away from home is cause for concern, but the ability to cause trouble for your opponent on your home deck is something important for a young team to cling onto.

As far as individual performances go, Adam Saad looked strong off half back, Peter Wright started to become a factor up forward, while Jarryd Lyons proved to be one of the recruits of the season.

Best win
Round 6: Gold Coast Suns 18.16 (124) def. Geelong Cats 15.9 (99).

While their 86-point shellacking of Hawthorn in Round 3 was astounding, it was arguably more impressive seeing them topple the high-flying Cats in a match they were given little chance of competing in.

Advertisement

Superb efforts from Aaron Hall, Jarrod Witts and Gary Ablett saw the Suns finish ahead of their opponents in almost every statistical area, but most importantly on the scoreboard.

Most impressively, however, was Gold Coast’s ability to withstand several rallies from their highly-fancied opponents in an incredibly encouraging win.

[latest_videos_strip category=”afl” name=”AFL”]

Worst loss
Round 23: Port Adelaide 20.15 (135) def. Gold Coast Suns 3.2 (20)

While the playing group reportedly loved Dean Solomon, their efforts during his caretaker tenure did him no favours, with their final round performance against Port borderline farcical.

The Suns were absolutely smashed in inside 50s (77-29) and contested possessions (163-121), with their final score of 3.2 arguably the nadir of their existence as a football club.

Despite suggestions otherwise, there is no way the performance actually reflects where Gold Coast are as a team, but it was still easily the worst performance, maybe of any side, for the season.

Advertisement

What needs to happen next year?
Improving their effort around the ground will be vital for the Suns, with the club’s average output of 61.6 tackles a game the competition’s worst.

Gold Coast moved the ball a fair bit better than what they were credited for in 2017, but they were still far too easy to move the ball on in return.

Their midfield’s reputation for being soft is somewhat overblown, although unearthing another genuine inside midfielder would do them a world of good.

There’ll be some serious negotiations to be had at the contract table next year, with Saad, Tom Lynch and Aaron Hall all needing new contracts for 2019 and beyond.

Early prediction
Up surely has to be the only direction this team can head in 2018.

It’s hard to assess where they are as far as list-building goes, but with a new coach, a fresh start and fewer distractions next season, the grass should get a little greener on the Gold Coast.

Prediction: 11th-14th

Advertisement
close