The crucial cogs of AFL's Round 7: Which players need to be the difference makers?
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
After throwing away a 30-point lead in their last encounter, Gold Coast’s Touk Miller says some of the coach’s messages are not getting through to the playing squad.
On the back of Saturday’s 35-point-loss to Melbourne, Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade said he’d been struggling to get his messages across to the players during their losses this season.
Miller says it’s only been the minor details that haven’t been actioned, which have led to the dramatic losses.
“What baffles him (Eade) the most is we seem to play really good football, the weekend being a really good example, and then we just let it slip,” Miller said.
“It’s that 10 per cent that doesn’t sink in and we might miss a few structural things or we’re not able to adapt to a game quicker enough – that’s what’s costing us.
“It’s something we have to learn and we have to learn quicker than we have been.”
The Suns will need to learn fast or they could face an exodus of staff and players at the end of the season.
Eade is the oldest coach in the competition and his contract ends this year – this paired with the Suns only registering three wins from nine games, there are concerns about whether the veteran coach will remain at Gold Coast.
And Eade isn’t the only one possibly on the way out.
Gold Coast co-captain Steven May is out of contract at the end of the season and is being chased by clubs in Melbourne.
But Miller believes the players and the coach are in it for the long haul.
“Everyone is sticking by the club. To my knowledge, everyone wants to be here. They can see the direction of the club,” Miller said.
“We fixed our standards going forward.”
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We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
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