Big things were expected of the Gold Coast Suns this year. Many thought this would be their breakthrough season and first finals appearance, with perhaps even a third Brownlow for Gary Ablett.
Unfortunately for the club, things have not gone to plan.
Injuries have hindered the young club’s progress. When Ablett, the club’s back bone, went down at the end of last year with a shoulder injury we feared the worst. He has still not fully recovered and is still no certainty to return against Carlton this weekend.
Gold Coast need him back on the field to recover the motivation these young players were so full of when they were in the top eight for the first half of last season.
Jaeger O’Meara’s season-ending knee injury was damaging to the Suns’ aspirations, while Dion Prestia and David Swallow are also still missing from the midfield.
Depth is lacking on the Gold Coast, they do not have the experience to replace Ablett and need their young midfielders fit and firing if they are going to have a chance to win games.
While injuries can be dealt with and players will return to full fitness, a drinking culture can be venomous to a developing club’s progress. When Charlie Dixon and Jack Martin were suspended for drinking before the Hawthorn game earlier this month, it confirmed what many assumed: that Gold Coast had problems away from the pitch as well as on it.
Dixon and Martin should have been thinking about their game plans and finding the inspiration that they need to instil in their fellow players rather than drinking. Given the side’s poor form and solitary single win this season, it sends a message that they do not care enough to change. That truly is unacceptable.
Gold Coast wanted to play finals within five years of the club’s first season. With players out drinking before a game instead of finding a way to win a game, finals do not look remotely possible any time soon.
In a way, this season the Gold Coast Suns have been lucky, with the media having been focused on tearing Mick Malthouse and Carlton to pieces rather than the Suns’ lack of improvement. The young players would not have been prepared to deal with the media, however if their form doesn’t change they will need to learn quick, as Malthouse is gone.
Meanwhile, the Greater Western Sydney Giants had already posted their most successful season before the bye rounds. Although their luck has most likely ended with a terrible run of injuries, they have earned the respect of AFL supporters for their exciting and fast-paced brand of football this season.
With seven wins, GWS have well and truly exceeded all expectations this year, even if they fail to make the finals.
For the Suns, it is a case of what could have been with their progress suddenly behind that of the Giants.
It is difficult to see when Gold Coast will turn the corner. There is talk of Ablett returning for the clash against Carlton. We will truly see Ablett’s class if he is able to lift his players and carry them to a few more wins this season. However, it would take something special even for him to lift the Suns’ spirits and motivation.
Not everything can be placed on Gary Ablett’s shoulders again, as they were when the team was formed. Ablett, though, will feel responsible for his younger teammates and must use the more experienced players around him to inspire the younger boys to get the club back to where it wants to be.
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