The AFL’s perennial cellar-dwellers claimed their second wooden spoon last season with a miserable three-win campaign and could have scarcely begun 2020 any worse.
Fresh off an unprecedented assistance package that netted them the top two picks in the draft, among a host of other concessions, and a productive player movement period that brought in premiership-winning Tiger Brandon Ellis, the Suns laid an egg in Round 1.
While I reckon Port Adelaide are a lot better than people realise, you should not be scoring just 29 points in a game of Australian rules football and, if you do, you certainly shouldn’t be losing by 47.
Here are four burning questions for Gold Coast as their 2020 campaign gets back underway.
Other fan-bases don’t know how good they’ve got it. While we’re all speculating when our next premiership or finals appearance might be, Suns fans are pondering where the next four points are coming from.
Their current losing streak is a whopping 19 games – two off the club record of 21 and getting dangerously close to the record books. They’re not in danger of touching University’s record of 51, but something like South Melbourne’s 29-game losing streak in the ’70s – currently the fifth longest – is achievable.
Hopes of an immediate turnaround this season were dashed in Round 1 as they were dominated by the Power in a horror outing.
Given we only know the fixture up until Round 5, it’s hard to know what the future holds, but you think they’d be circling Round 4’s clash with Fremantle on the calendar. The Dockers will have been interstate for three weeks by that point, while the Suns have also knocked them off in their last two clashes at home.
If they drop that one, all bets are off.
Part of the AFL’s assistance package saw the Suns nab Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson with the top two picks in last year’s draft – both viewed as excellent prospects in an otherwise middling class.
Normally an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old wouldn’t be tossed in the deep end, but that’s what happened in Round 1 and they both managed quite well.
Anderson was serviceable with 12 disposals off the bench, while Rowell had an excellent debut with 19 disposals, four tackles and even four clearances. Neither looked overawed by the occasion and will no doubt serve the club well – provided they can be re-signed.
The challenge with first-year players is managing their workload and making sure they don’t run out of steam by the end of the season, but the second pre-season and reduced number of matches could work out quite handily in their favour.
Don’t expect either player to challenge for the 2020 Brownlow, but this top-two duo should find themselves comfortably inside the best 22 every week.
The Suns have a reasonable number of players coming out of contract this season but, fortunately, very few of them look to be the promising youngsters they’ve had a penchant for losing over the years.
They already took care of their highest priority: Brayden Fiorini, a Victorian native who broke out last season to finish fifth in the club best and fairest. Jesse Joyce would be next on the list, but otherwise it’s gap-stoppers they’ve picked up over the years or raw youngsters who haven’t shown much just yet.
Still, the list of players they’ll need to make decisions on this season is quite interesting, starting with ex-Tigers Anthony Miles and Corey Ellis. Miles played 17 games last season, but injured a pectoral muscle and will miss a fair bit of this season. He’ll be 29 at the start of next season and that could count against him.
Ellis, on the other hand, has played just four games and looks to be in real trouble.
George Horlin-Smith was dropped from the leadership group this season after only managing seven games in 2019, while veterans Pearce Hanley and Jarrod Harbrow are also on the last year of their respective deals.
The most important thing Stuart Dew has done for the club is change the culture and stop the deluge of young talent leaving the club once their contracts were up.
He gets a big cross for delisting Jarryd Lyons, but Tom Lynch had his mind set on a Richmond move long before Dew came on board, while moving Steven May on for pick six a year before he hit free agency looks likely to end up a huge heist.
Since then, player retention has been excellent.
But this is a results business and with a record so far of 7-38, Dew’s record is comfortably the worst of any Gold Coast coach. Rodney Eade was sacked with three games remaining in his third season and his winning percentage was a full 11 points higher than Dew’s is currently.
He’s out of contract at the end of this season and while a two-year extension is reportedly a formality, at what point do the Suns need to start climbing?
Jimbo
Guest
Look how stupid you all look now :laughing:
Josh
Expert
He signed a two-year extension until the end of 2022 some time ago. Realisitcally, it would be a significant waste of time. I suspect a new deal for Jack Lukosius would be the higher priority.
Josh
Expert
I always scoff at suggestions that an AFL team could go a season without winning a game, GC are probably the best chance we've seen in recent times IMO (while still being very unlikely). Dew's strength has been in getting the kids up for the start of the season but that just hasn't been possible under the circumstances - combine a lot of inexperienced draftees with new mature additions, they really needed the chance to develop cohesion and won't get it this year. Will get smacked around most weeks.
jacko
Roar Rookie
agree ,if i recall they started really strong last year,we saw what first year players like walsh rozee etc did last year ,and yes if rankine gets fit and fires watchout,he will be a handful for anyone, kid can play
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Still can’t believe how fat he was when he won a Grand final for them. Just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover
6x6 perkele
Roar Rookie
Well Stewie dew is a bit like John Candy
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
It's the underdog effect. They're the Jamaican bobsleigh team of the AFL.
Paul D
Roar Rookie
If Tony Cochrane started looking back he'd have to remember some of the crap that has dribbled out of his mouth over the years, I can understand why he wouldn't be keen to revisit that
Paul D
Roar Rookie
He had bad hip injuries around 2015ish and was never the same player since. Unless you need him for experience and grey hairs a la Michael Barlow I'd cut him as well.
6x6 perkele
Roar Rookie
Thr biggest advantage the GCS will get hopefully is access to key people from the four hub sides to gain learnings in regards to successfully build a travelling side with strength to future.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
They should have one of those wins during the 4 week hub (sorry Adelaide). They have players becoming available...good experienced players...Hanley, Harbrow, Day, Thompson, Collins, Powell...all missed most of last year. It is not just Anderson and Rowell: Rankine, too, is new to the line up and Jeremy Sharp could be the best of them all. With Lukosius and King as well, there will be some very good performances by the Suns. They'll win 5 or 6 at least (7 or 8 in a full season).
TeamAustralia
Roar Rookie
As a Suns supporter I would let Hanley go. Actually I couldn't believe he was signed in the first place, given: - Brisbane let him go when they were looking to build a winning team. - He is slow. - People say he is experienced, sure but losing experience is not an asset. - He is said to be a very nice guy, but in footy that is not important. - He is now 31 and 27 when recruited and I still haven't see any upside in him.
Stirling Coates
Editor
I'd keep Miles and Harbrow and let the other three walk.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
I must admit I have a bit of a soft spot for the suns
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
No he hasn’t and yes they should depending on how the sainters go this year
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I wonder whether if The Suns having been able to secure King on an extension, whether they would have a crack at trying to get the other one from the Saints? Has he signed a extension yet?
DingoGray
Roar Guru
They need some sort of older heads on their list. Obviously Horlin-Smith & Ellis are pretty easy to let go. They really haven't provided much, but Hanley & Harbrow would surely be offered short term deals? Max 2 years more preferably do Yearly from here? Both have been pretty consistent. Hanley probably had his injury issues. But been solid without being spectacular. Pretty hard to be spectacular there at the moment.
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Tony Cohrane recently said on Footy Catastrophised you only get a sore neck from looking back which is true to an extent but it helps to learn from your mistakes I reckon. The emerging static salary cap will make attraction and retention just that bit harder.
Samuel Power
Roar Rookie
I actually believe - unlike other people - that the Gold Coast Suns have potential. They have heaps of good kids developing and signing some key players last season such as Lukosius, Rankine, King, etc. They showed signs last year of this potential, beating the Bulldogs at Marvel and sneaking over the line against Carlton and Fremantle, while also giving Essendon a huge scare, a game they probably should've actually won. Not all bad on the Gold Coast in my view.
Paul D
Roar Rookie
Suns will win 2-3 games for the season, maybe more. The two draft picks will have no measurable impact this season, but definitely should get thrown in and get started on their careers. Don't re-sign any of those players if it can be helped. Stuart Dew should be under no heat whatsoever. The Suns problems go far far deeper than the choice of head coach.