The Gold Coast Suns’ 2015 season was an absolute catastrophe, both on and off the field.
The Suns’ on-field issues were mainly due to injuries to key players.
Gary Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara, David Swallow, Tom Nicholls, Mitch Hallahan, Trent McKenzie, Dion Prestia and Adam Saad all missed games throughout the season, which was too much of a blow for Gold Coast to handle.
On paper, Gold Coast have one of the league’s most devastating midfield line-ups, but that talent was hardly seen in 2015. Ablett played just six games, as did Swallow. Prestia only managed eight contests, and O’Meara missed the entire season due to knee surgery.
Even Nicholls, the Suns’ impressive ruckman, missed seven games due to injury.
Turning a negative into a positive, the injury troubles allowed younger players to emerge. Kade Kolodjashnij thrived under a heavier-than-expected workload, his run off the backline placing him sixth in the league in rebound 50s, while he averaged 22.3 disposals per game at a 75 per cent effective disposal percentage for the season.
Despite Kolodjashnij’s brilliant year, Tom Lynch shone a little brighter. The gun young forward took home Gold Coast’s best and fairest award, kicking a career-high 43 goals, removing some of the doubt that surrounded him earlier in his career. With Charlie Dixon bolting to Port Adelaide in the off-season, Lynch will have even more space to operate and shine in the Suns forward line.
While some positives can be taken from the Suns’ on-field problems, the same cannot be said about the off-field issues.
Two incidents told the tale in 2015: a photo of now-Fremantle Docker Harley Bennell snorting a white substance ending up on the front of major newspapers across the country, and coach Rodney Eade suspending Dixon, Bennell, McKenzie, Jack Martin and Brandon Matera for breaking team alcohol rules.
Still, things are looking up for Eade’s men in 2016. With the aforementioned talent returning from the injury list, and players like Dixon and Bennell moved on, the Suns hope to regain some much-needed respect.
Eade has already stated that the culture and standards of the club are improving, and that positive off-field change should yield a season that easily breaks the four-win total of 2015.
Best 22
B: Adam Saad, Steven May, Jarrod Harbrow
HB: Nick Malceski, Rory Thompson, Kade Kolodjashnij
C: Jaeger O’Meara, David Swallow, Matt Rosa
HF: Jack Martin, Tom Lynch, Michael Rischitelli
F: Brandon Matera, Sam Day, Touk Miller
Foll: Tom Nicholls, Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia
INT: Mitch Hallahan, Jesse Lonergan, Aaron Hall, Trent McKenzie
MVP: Gary Ablett
Yes, he only played in six games last season. Yes, he is coming off another major surgery. Yes, the Suns had other players step up in his absence. But there is simply no way to argue that Ablett still isn’t the MVP up in the Gold Coast.
Just take a look at the numbers he put up in those aforementioned six games: averaging 22.8 disposals, 15.7 kicks, 7.2 handballs, 4.7 tackles, 2.0 marks and 1.7 goals per game. He also had a three-game stretch from Rounds 14-16 where he again looked like the Brownlow Medal winner the AFL world has come to love.
In Round 14, Ablett had 31 disposals and three goals, in Round 15 he racked up another 30 disposals, and in Round 16 – his best game of the season and one of the most impressive games from any player all season – Ablett had 30 disposals, an amazing 17 tackles and three goals.
Many said Ablett lost the mantle of the AFL’s best player in 2015, but he is set to regain that crown this season.
Future star: Jaeger O’Meara
Just as with Ablett, there are reasons O’Meara shouldn’t be highlighted this way, but there are more reasons why he should.
After his sensational 2014 season, in which he averaged 21.4 disposals, 12.2 kicks, 9.3 handballs, 6.4 tackles and 3.5 marks per game, many were already anointing O’Meara as the next Ablett. O’Meara’s ferocious tackling pressure along with his silky smooth skills with the football in his hands allowed him to rank fourth in inside 50s and ninth in tackles in 2014, as he established himself as a force in the Suns midfield.
Gold Coast are going to be cautious in bringing O’Meara back from his injury, but he is a future superstar.
Make or break: Trent McKenzie
McKenzie was part of some of the aforementioned off-field issues that the Suns dealt with last year, and his suspension due to breaking alcohol rules put another damper on a disappointing 2015 in which his play took a downward spiral. He managed just 12.0 disposals per game, after averaging 16.3, 19.2, 16.5 and 17.1 in his four seasons prior.
The pressure is mounting on McKenzie, he must find form to remain in the Suns squad, as the outbreak of Henry Schade as the Suns third tall makes McKenzie replaceable.
McKenzie needs a complete turnaround – both on and off the field – in 2016 if he wants to reestablish himself as a key component on the Gold Coast.
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