After a year that started with promise but ultimately ended in disaster and the sacking of a coach, the Gold Coast Suns are facing an off-season of radical change that will make or break their chances of success.
AFL list management series
18 – Brisbane Lions
16 – Carlton Blues
15 – North Melbourne Kangaroos
14 – Fremantle Dockers
13 – Collingwood Magpies
12 – Hawthorn Hawks
11 – St Kilda Saints
10 – Western Bulldogs
9 – Melbourne Demons
8 – Essendon Bombers
7 – Port Adelaide Power
6 – West Coast Eagles
5 – Sydney Swans
4 – GWS Giants
3 – Geelong Cats
2017 in short
Generally speaking, Gold Coast were most times able to play something like competitive footy whenever they got their midfield quartet of Gary Ablett, Michael Barlow, Jarryd Lyons and Jarrod Witts all on the field together.
That happened more of than not in the early part of the year but deteriorated rapidly in the latter half as first Barlow then Witts suffered season-ending injuries, and Ablett and Lyons became week-on-week-off propositions.
They ultimately finished the season with a run of eight consecutive losses, and managed just three goals in the final round, suffering a 115-point defeat at the hands of Port Adelaide – the biggest margin any team lost by all year.
If you’re keen on a more detailed review of Gold Coast’s 2017 season, Stirling Coates has written a great one.
Coach
Right now, they don’t have one – Rodney Eade was told a few weeks ago that his contract would not be renewed, and vacated the position immediately, leading Dean Solomon to take over the role for the last three rounds.
There wouldn’t be any realistic chance of Solomon being appointed to the role long term – the Suns were quite bad under his control, losing by a total of 206 points across three games. None of the other assistants at Gold Coast will be considered either – it is abundantly clear that the Suns need fresh blood.
The choice then is between going after an experienced candidate, or an untried one. An experienced candidate brings with it at least some guaranteed level of competence and stability, while an untried candidate could be the next Luke Beveridge, but has just as much chance of being the next Mark Neeld.
An experienced coach would seem like the logical choice for the Suns as their immediate focus should be to build a stable platform for a longer-term future, but it’s not clear who would be the likely candidate in terms of genuinely realistic propositions.
Brett Ratten might be someone to consider, having led Carlton to several finals series and now been a part of a very successful Hawthorn dynasty. Ratten did say earlier this year he would consider another senior coaching role if the opportunity came up.
There’s also been some talk about Gold Coast possibly poaching Brad Scott from North Melbourne, and if you take a Sportsbet market as gospel, he’s currently the favourite there. They did approach him three years ago as a possible candidate when they ultimately hired Rodney Eade.
Ratten and Scott would both bring with them a certain level of experience and confidence that they know how to run a football club, but both would also have the question mark that they’ve spent a significant amount of time as senior coaches elsewhere without delivering a flag, and there’s no reason to expect they’ll do any better at the Suns.
If the Suns go down the untried route, Stewart Dew at Sydney would be my first port of call – he seems well entrenched at the Swans, but with the AFL pulling the strings perhaps Gold Coast could make him a Godfather offer.
(AAP Image/David Crosling)
Captain
Steven May and Tom J Lynch took over as co-captains from Gary Ablett at the start of the year, becoming the first captains of the club to have played their entire careers there.
It’s hard to say how much of a success their leadership was in the first year. The Suns didn’t have a good season, but there are a lot of contributing factors behind that. They were certainly an improvement on the regularly-injured wantaway Ablett.
Expect the arrangement to continue in 2018, as there isn’t much in the way of other candidates, though David Swallow having played close to a full season would be in the conversation if a change was to be made.
The only concern here is that Lynch is out of contract at the end of 2018 and sure to be heavily courted by all and sundry – but we’ll talk more about that soon.
List management
Given that they have only been around for seven years, it is no surprise that the veteran talent at the top of the Suns’ list is a bit uninspiring. Every player over 28 on the Gold Coast list has played at least one game for another club.
That’s not to say there isn’t talent here. There’s names like Gary Ablett, Michael Barlow, Jarrod Harbrow and Pearce Hanley – all have played elite footy at times, and Ablett even better than that.
But Ablett is almost certainly going to be elsewhere in 2018 and Harbrow may well be also. Barlow is recovering from the second broken leg of his career, and Hanley has made only a negligible impact in his short time as a Sun.
Barring some miraculous turnaround of events, these players aren’t going to contribute anything to Gold Coast’s next push into finals, and it’s debatable how much value they offer as a leadership core. Most likely they will all be cut at soonest convenience.
Further down the scale we can see the four surviving members of the original Gold Coast generation who have become reliable quality players – Aaron Hall, Steven May, Tom Lynch and David Swallow.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
In this same section of the list we can see some Gold Coast originals who have done exactly not that. Matt Shaw, Tom Nicholls, Brandon Matera, Trent McKenzie, Rory Thompson and Sam Day – some of them may still come good, and the latter two in particular can blame injury to a degree, but they should be entering the peak of their career and they’re not.
Instead, it’s that quartet – Lynch, May, Swallow and Hall – who are the platform around which the rest of the team must be built, and some canny trading has added Jarryd Lyons and Jarrod Witts, in a similar age range, to that group.
There is more talent coming through after them. Adam Saad (23), Jack Martin, Kade Kolodjashnij (both 22), Touk Miller (21), Peter Wright, Brayden Fiorini (20) and Callum Ah Chee (19) should all be coming into their prime over the next five years or so.
After that, you’ve got the four from the top ten of last year’s draft – Ben Ainsworth, Jack Bowes, Will Brodie and Jack Scrimshaw. If they too develop as expected, then Gold Coast will have a steady train of improving talent to keep the club going.
Gold Coast players by age
Gary Ablett – 33yr 3mth
Michael Rischitelli – 31yr 7mth
Matthew Rosa – 30yr 9mth
Michael Barlow – 29yr 8mth
Jarrod Harbrow – 29yr 1mth
Pearce Hanley – 28yr 9mth
Daniel Currie – 28yr 6mth
Ryan Davis (R) – 28yr 2mth
Jarrad Grant – 28yr 1mth
Keegan Brooksby (R) – 27yr 4mth
Aaron Hall – 26yr 9mth
Rory Thompson – 26yr 5mth
Steven May – 25yr 7mth
Matt Shaw – 25yr 6mth
Tom Nicholls – 25yr 5mth
Brandon Matera – 25yr 5mth
Trent McKenzie – 25yr 4mth
Jarryd Lyons – 25yr 1mth
Mitch Hallahan – 25yr
Sam Day – 24yr 11mth
Jarrod Witts – 24yr 11mth
Tom J Lynch – 24yr 9mth
David Swallow – 24yr 9mth
Alex Sexton – 23yr 8mth
Adam Saad – 23yr 1mth
Sean Lemmens – 22yr 9mth
Jesse Lonergan – 22yr 9mth
Jack Martin – 22yr 6mth
Jack Leslie – 22yr 4mth
Mackenzie Willis – 22yr
Kade Kolodjashnij – 22yr
Cameron Loersch (R) – 21yr 10mth
Touk Miller – 21yr 6mth
Peter Wright – 20yr 11mth
Josh Schoenfeld – 20yr 1mth
Jesse Joyce – 20yr
Brayden Fiorini – 20yr
Max Spencer (R) – 19yr 10mth
Callum Ah Chee – 19yr 10mth
Darcy Macpherson (R) – 19yr 9mth
Jack Bowes – 19yr 7mth
Ben Ainsworth – 19yr 6mth
Will Brodie – 19yr
Brad Scheer – 18yr 11mth
Jack Scrimshaw – 18yr 11mth
In terms of this year’s out of contract players, the only immediate decision likely to be of consequence for the Suns is what to do with Jarrod Harbrow.
He played some great football at times for them in 2017, but was also hit with punishments during the year for poor discipline.
Although there hasn’t been any rumour of him looking to move to a new club, the fact he is out of contract is potentially telling.
It is looking ahead to those players coming out of contract in 2018 however that we see what Gold Coast’s top priority across all areas must be: re-signing Tom J Lynch.
(AAP Image/Matt Roberts)
The star forward is the most important of that middle-aged group that will make up the core of the Gold Coast list going forward – the Lynchpin, if you’ll pardon the pun.
One of the best key forwards in the game, you can expect virtually every other club in the game to have a red hot crack if there is even a sniff of interest from him in moving.
If the Suns lose him it will be an absolutely catastrophic result – that core group likely falls apart, and Gold Coast are set back at least four years.
Their first priority this off-season should be to feel him out and if possible, sign him to a long term deal immediately.
One would expect however that he is more likely to want to wait until at least part way through 2018 to see if things change for the better at the Suns, and fair enough if so.
If Lynch does go, then the Suns will likely need to make significant revisions to their longterm list strategy – they shouldn’t do anything too wild this off-season until they know for sure what his decision will be.
However Adam Saad, Kade Kolodjashnij, Aaron Hall and Brayden Fiorini would be others in the 2018 group to ideally look to re-sign before next season begins.
Having all four of last year’s top ten draftees already locked away until the end of 2020 is a huge thumbs up.
Gold Coast players by contract status
2020
Ben Ainsworth
Jack Bowes
Will Brodie
Jack Scrimshaw2019
Callum Ah Chee
Sam Day
Pearce Hanley
Jack Martin
Steven May
Touk Miller
Brad Scheer
David Swallow
Rory Thompson
Peter Wright2018
Gary Ablett
Michael Barlow
Brayden Fiorini
Aaron Hall
Jesse Joyce
Kade Kolodjashnij
Sean Lemmens
Jack Leslie
Tom J Lynch
Tom Nicholls
Matt Rosa
Adam Saad
Alex SextonOut of contract
Keegan Brooksby (R)
Ryan Davis (R)
Jarrad Grant
Mitch Hallahan
Jarrod Harbrow
Cameron Loersch (R)
Jesse Lonergan
Darcy Macpherson (R)
Brandon Matera
Trent McKenzie
Michael Rischitelli
Josh Schoenfeld
Matt Shaw
Max Spencer (R)
Mackenzie WillisUnconfirmed
Daniel Currie
Jarryd Lyons
Jarrod Witts
(Photo by Jason O’Brien/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Delistings and retirements
Gold Coast haven’t announced any official retirements or delistings yet.
Michael Rischitelli and Jarrod Harbrow may be in line to retire, as both are currently out of contract, though Harbrow in particular would be a chance of going on. Gary Ablett may retire with a year left on his contract if not traded.
Jarrad Grant, Mitch Hallahan, Trent Mckenzie and Matt Shaw will all likely be delisted, and some others may be cut too.
Free agency
The Suns are still yet to have had any players eligible for free agency in their history. That’ll change next year but for now they have nothing to worry about in terms of departures.
That means they should strongly consider going after a free agent from another club, one who can bolster the strength of that middle-aged group, so long as the costs involved don’t impact upon their ability to retain Lynch.
Tom Rockliff, David Zaharakis and Jackson Trengove in particular are the three I would be asking the question of – while they would all be fairly unlikely, they fit the bill and there’s nothing to lose by having a crack.
The other consideration would be bringing in an experienced veteran on a short-term deal to lead into coaching. Jarrad McVeigh is someone who is already said to be looking at this kind of move, and Kade Simpson and Dale Morris would be worth sounding out also.
Trade period
The big question for the Suns this off-season is what to do with Gary Ablett should he, as expected, request a trade home to Geelong.
My expectation is that it will be a choice between losing Ablett to retirement or losing Ablett to the Cats, and in that scenario the Suns surely must eventually pick the latter because the former stands to do them no benefit.
I wouldn’t expect to get anything of value in the trade for Ablett. He has perhaps one or two years left in his body and even that is doubtful. A swap of late picks ala the trades for Sam Mitchell or Jordan Lewis last year should be the order of the day.
Gold Coast have little to gain here other than to clear one of their major headaches out of the way, and they should look to do it as quickly and respectfully as possible.
(AAP Image/Jason O’Brien)
They are also likely to see Brandon Matera traded elsewhere, perhaps to Fremantle or West Coast, or perhaps to a Victorian club.
Again, wouldn’t expect to see much in a return here – Matera just hasn’t played consistent enough footy to justify anything higher than a third-round draft pick at the absolute most.
In terms of trade targets, I believe the Suns should hold off on giving up their draft picks for established talent until they know for certain what Tom Lynch will do and can build their future list strategy around that.
The one that would potentially be worth having a crack at is Charlie Cameron, if he does indeed request a trade back to Queensland. Brisbane are on the front foot here, but the Suns have nothing to lose by asking the question, and players wanting to go to Queensland is a rare enough occurrence that you simply must take advantage if you can.
They might also try to bring in a small fish at good value, as they did with Jarryd Lyons and Jarrod Witts last year. Perhaps look at players like Bailey Dale or more likely Lukas Webb from the Western Bulldogs as targets here.
Draft
First three rounds: 2, 19, 22, 24, Richmond’s second-round pick, 37.
The Suns will feature in the early stages of the draft yet again, in fact, this year the top two eighteen-year-olds will both be headed to Queensland.
Assuming the Lions take Cam Rayner with the first pick, the decision for Gold Coast will likely come down to one of Luke Davies-Uniacke, Paddy Dow or Adam Cerra, with Davies-Uniacke probably the leading contender at this early stage.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
After that they’ve got a trio of early picks in the second round with which they can sweep up any sliding talent.
A key defender, an inside midfielder and a genuine small forward would all be positions to consider targeting.
In terms of Academy players, the Suns probably won’t to have to match any early bids this year, but should pick up ruckman Brayden Crossley at some point in the draft.
Outlook
The key to Gold Coast’s future is to re-sign Tom J Lynch, and the likely path to doing that is to make immediate change that gives him confidence the club is on the right track.
That starts with hiring the right senior coach and likely involves some change among the assistant coaches too. This is an appointment Gold Coast simply cannot afford to get wrong.
If the Suns do make the right call here and that leads to Lynch signing for the long term, and they are generally able to keep the list together and developing well, they will rise up the table swiftly.
It might sound a bit optimistic, but if all goes well then they could be in premiership contention as soon as three years from now.
That scenario requires them to make every decision a right one, though, and in their short history so far it’s fair to say that has not been their forte.
If Lynch leaves, I’d be surprised to seem them do anything of significance before the mid 2020s at best.
Lambsie
Guest
How ironic, but I think there is some truth in the nick-name "The Suns" being a problem, even on the Gold Coast. It's a not a locally based name and does nothing to embrace the community it purports to serve. "The Sharks" or "The Rays" (as in stingrays) would have been more appropriate, even if there was already a local club with that name. It would also have helped with all the marketing opportunities that currently go begging due to the lack of a decent mascot ("Sunny Ray" just doesn't cut it with the kids) and the shocking bright red supporters gear that the patrons are expected to wear. As an aside, I am reliably informed that I look like a giant toffee apple when I go to the football. So perhaps a complete re-launch of the club with a new name, coach, women's team and colours should coincide with the return to a re-vamped Metricon stadium after the Commonwealth games?
Lambsie
Guest
I'm not sure what the fascination is with Tom Lynch? From where I sit (behind the goals), he reminds me of a young Richo - either brilliant when things are going his way or very, very ordinary the rest of the time. He is too temperamental to be a captain and yelling at teammates is not leadership. I think Trent McKenzie has had a rough deal. He is a beautiful long accurate kick which was never utilised under Rocket. The old coach tried to get him to chip it around the backline, which is not his forte. Give him a coach who wants to utilise his skills and he is a 'keeper'. The new coach will be the key to their future. What they need is a true 'man manager' who can recognise and utilise the skills of each individual. When you look at the top teams, they have a pattern of play - a game plan, both not to the extent of shutting down the flair and individual brilliance of their champions.
Josh Mitchell
Roar Rookie
It's going to be a huge expression of irony when they finally crash, move south and become the Tassie Suns.
Asd
Guest
Restructed footy department. Highly rated coach . Discipline . They are all the things they need. Plus talent that will listen.
Josh
Expert
Fifteenth! (Not that that's good.)
Josh
Expert
Hmm, hopefully I've got my facts a bit straighter but I will say that there is some serious Tom Rockliff talk to come - hopefully what I've got in mind won't sound too wild.
Josh
Expert
I have to agree Matty, a team that picks up Jarrad Grant as a delisted free agent and then keeps him around several years is just a bad team no matter how you slice it.
Josh
Expert
I fear you may be proven right in time Paul, the sporting black hole that is the Gold Coast really is an interesting anomaly in the Australian landscape. Time will tell if the Suns can buck the trend but so far the outlook is not great.
Josh
Expert
Always good to get your thoughts mate! I feel like Lynch, Wright and May is most of the way towards a quality spine, but you're right that there is a serious lack of talent that can support them, which is needed. You don't need stars here but you need solid players. Interesting suggestion about Aaron Hall. I reckon there'd be a decent amount of interest certainly and you could maybe get a late first-round pick, but I'm not sure that's worthwhile till there's a confidence it's going to be well spent. Ratten and Dew I think would a be a case of the AFL splashing the cash pretty heavily to entice them to the club. It worked with Paul Roos at Melbourne. Agree with your closing thoughts though - fixing the club culture is by far a higher priority and bigger problem than any concern about the list.
David C.
Guest
Scene: AFL Draft Night 2017 Host: And for pick no 2 it's the Gold Coast Suns. Coach: The Gold Coast Suns choose .... Every eligible player (thinking) : Please not me, please not me.
Macca
Guest
I think you are about 2 years too late to that party Dalgety. And I apologise for interrupting a clearly robust discussion about the Suns with my comment to Josh about Jon Anderson being rubbish. I mean it had only been completely dormant for an hour before I posted and only you and WCE have posted since, but I do apologise unreservedly.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
I think whenever Carlton's review is, everyone else should invade the comments section with posts that centre on their club and have nothing to do with the review of Carlton. What do you think?
WCE
Roar Rookie
appointing brad scott as coach is like shuffling the chairs on the deck of the titanic..either way the club is going down. Isnt north 17th on the ladder ??
Macca
Guest
I think after this post Josh should add you to his by line.
Macca
Guest
Hey Josh - when writing the blues review for tomorrow you don't have to work to hard to beat Jon Anderson's offering today - things like stating the blues beat 2 2017 finalists this year when they beat 3 and floating the idea the blues would be very keen on Tom Rockliff sum it up pretty well.
Mattyb
Guest
Some really good reading here both from the author and a couple of posters,thanks guys,good honest stuff. I find Scott Clayton a bit of a problem,as I did when he was at the dogs,seems to have a preference for skinny flanker types. Also felt he fell into the trap of re recruiting one of his failed past players in Grant.Ego? Possibly,but I'm sure Eade also had a say. I wouldn't mind trying to get Matera and maybe GC could use this in negotiations for Webb,who I think they could get if they wanted. They might also be able to push for Williams. I'd think they'd have very little chance of getting Dale,he had a little bit of a breakout season and possibly has a couple of roles in the best 22 at the dogs. Agree with others that keeping Lynch is priority one. May,2MP,and Saad I also feel are crucial for the future.
Nineteen
Guest
Nice analysis SportsfanGC
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
May be a mistake or may not. Let's at least see what on-field success does for the Club as we have seen with GWS the past two seasons. The North Queensland Cowboys are a great comparison with regard to appeal and ability to attract/retain players in their early years. They struck pay dirt with Thurston and the Club turned the corner. The Cowboys now have a strong culture along with a Premiership in the Trophy Cabinet and are preparing for the next stage of their journey in their new stadium in 2020. The AFL will stay on the GC for a number of reasons that have previously been discussed already (namely GC Titans) and probably top of the list is the fact that it is the sixth largest city in Australia and growing towards 1M people within the next 20-25 years. The Titans and Suns have both hosted 20K plus crowds when playing well and/or against big drawing opposition, their main problem has been consistency and lack of Finals footy.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I can’t see the Suns ever being anything except mediocre. Even if they keep bringing in new players, the glacial pace of increase up the ladder, if any, will surely disillusion and burn out senior players just as fast as the youngsters are developing. The only way they can break the wheel is to cross their fingers and hope like hell they get a solid core of talented qld players who actually have passion to stay and play on the Coast and who form enough critical mass to drag the rest of the side, including the interstate imports, up the professionalism ladder and into a quality side. The model for the Suns needs to be the NQ Cowboys, who also battled perceptions of being a retirement home for footballers for years till Thurston, Matt Scott & others managed to put their stamp on the club and turn them into a rock solid outfit. Cannot afford to lose Lynch under any circumstances. I still maintain long-term the Suns will be seen as a mistake though – GWS are serving a critical demographic area, but the Suns are serving the one city in Australia that couldn’t give a rats clacker about pro sport.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Where to start with the Gold Coast Suns??? Another season down the drain and after 7 years they are now back to square one as an easy beat of the competition where virtually every Club views them as an easy four points and a training run for the following week (except Hawthorn who mystifyingly lost to them twice in 2017). The Gary Ablett experiment worked from 2011-2014 and has been a failure since the haphazard return from injury at the beginning of 2015 culminating in the embarrassing run away from the media last Thursday night. There is absolutely no way known that he will be running around in Suns colours next year. It’s a sad end but that’s footy. Josh as you rightly point out Tom Lynch is priority number one. They need to get serious and put down $1M to $1.5M plus per season for 5+ years as he is their most important player. If Lynch does not sign on with the Suns then put a pin in this generation ever contesting finals – it won’t happen and they will have no choice but to commence a full blown rebuild (if they haven’t already committed to one this year). The list is just so uninspiring it is hard to know where to begin the discussion. There is a dearth of quality tall talent at either end of the ground. Tom Lynch and Peter Wright in the forward half and Steven May in the back half. That’s it. Jack Leslie at a stretch can be considered in this group but he should be defending the third tall target not one of the two big men of the opposition. Rory Thompson and Sam Day are perennially injured and their value to the Suns diminishes each year. Keegan Brooksby is a NEAFL player. Staying on the tall theme the Ruck division is very light on outside of Jarrod Witts. Daniel Currie and Tom Nicholls offered nothing this year (mostly through injury) and that puts plenty of stress on Witts to fulfill the ruck duties on his own essentially with Wright occasionally pinch hitting in there. If/when Witts gets injured then expect the Suns to get belted in the middle of the ground. Rather than trying to discuss all the players that are not up to AFL standard I will narrow it down the core that they must rebuild around and my position is very similar to you Josh. Tom Lynch, Peter Wright, Steven May, David Swallow, Jarryd Lyons, Adam Saad, Kade Kolodjashnij, Brayden Fiorini, Touk Miller, Jack Martin, Callum Ah Chee and the five boys from 2016 Draft - Ainsworth, Bowes, Scrimshaw, Brodie and Scheer. I could maybe include Alex Sexton and Sean Lemmens in there as well because they have improved their output year on year. The rest of the list is disposable either through age (as they won’t be part of a Suns finals campaign) and/or ability. From a Draft and Trade perspective the Suns essentially need to replicate their 2016 efforts with what they were able to achieve. I think put Aaron Hall up for trade. He may flourish at a better/stronger club because at the moment he loves the soft/easy touches and could provide some run and dash off the wing. He may attract a pick in the 20’s somewhere. He is a luxury player that stronger Clubs (Adelaide, Sydney, GWS, Geelong, Hawthorn etc.) can accommodate but not weak clubs like the Suns. Get what they can for Matera and McKenzie and possibly even Shaw. If Cam Rayner goes to Brisbane (as is highly likely) then all the talk seems to be that one of Luke Davies-Uniacke or Paddy Dow will go number 2 and the Suns desperately need another quality midfielder. I would ask the question of all Hopper, Cameron, Rockliff, Zaharakis, Trengove, Dale and Webb – why not? There is nothing to lose by asking only a potential gain if any of them say yes. The Club must sell the City, the Facilities, the Stadium and the core group of young talent mentioned above to attract Free Agents, however the prospect of finishing bottom 4 for the next few years may be tough to overcome in the pitch. Scott Clayton has this Draft and Trade Period to save his job at the Suns. This list is where it is at because he is in charge of list management. On the coaching front this Club cannot really afford a rookie or untried coach. They need some level of experience, at least as an assistant, and preferably at a quality strong Club with an elite culture. Ratten and Dew would be my preference but why would they leave Hawthorn and Sydney? Whoever comes in must be a disciplinarian and must be able to bring and pick his own assistant coaches. All the current assistants have been there long enough with nothing to show by way of improvement and that includes Solomon, Primus, Lappin and others. Bring the broom in and clean house. Touk Miller suggesting that the players would like a say in the next coach is ridiculous and shows how wrong the mindset is within the playing group that he would even think to mutter that statement publicly. Lastly, the biggest hurdle to overcome for this Club and playing group is the collective lack of heart and effort when the going gets tough. There is no group in the AFL that folds as easily under pressure and turn to witches hats when the pressure gets ramped up on game day. That is a softness the next Coach and his group need to rectify ASAP.