Dew's Suns upbeat despite losing run

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew is confident the worm is about to turn, insisting the mood remains high despite another AFL near miss.

The Suns turned the tables on Richmond’s early dominance to lead by 10 points at halftime at the Gabba on Monday night but were left to rue several missed opportunities as the defending premiers ran out 21-point winners.

The loss followed a tie with Essendon, a four-point loss to St Kilda a week earlier and five-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs two games before that.

Sitting 13th and six points outside the top eight, the Suns (4-7-1) will need to turn around quickly, set to play Carlton (12th, 5-6) in Darwin on Friday night.

“All in all the energy’s really good; we’re not frustrated and certainly have a clear view of how we want to play the game,” Dew said.

“If we keep showing up it’ll turn and when it turns I think they’ll be able to make the most of it.

“We’ve been in every game lately and have had the fight, consistency and we want to play a hard-running, exciting game.

“But there’s a finishing element we want to keep working on.

Gold Coast’s defence held firm despite the absence of veterans David Swallow and Jarrod Harbrow (both rested), with Jack Lukosius and Noah Anderson having arguably their best games for the club.

A No.2 draft pick in 2018, the smooth-moving Lukosius was daring with his ball use as he amassed 27 disposals at 63 per cent efficiency and a match-high 836m gained.

Anderson had 18 disposals by halftime and finished with 26, half of which were contested.

Jack Bowes (21 disposals) had plenty of time over the ball in defence while Dew commended Wil Powell’s bravery and Sam Collins’ leadership and competitiveness post-game.

“They’re all young … Sam Collins is still young but we forget because he’s built like a truck … we love him,” Dew said.

“There’s something there (in the defensive unit) and they’re building … to stand up against such a potent team is good work.”