The order of merit: Gold Coast Suns 2021 season

I finally got time to respond. If you actually look at the best 22 at the moment most of these players will be there in 2-3 years time when SUNS fans hope for finals success. So, it's not 10 in the article plus Day and Rankine. Here is the list - Budarick, Collins, Lukosius, Bowes, Ballard, Greenwood, Ellis, Ainsworth, Day, Swallow, Rankine, King, Sexton, Witts, Rowell, Miller, Anderson, Weller, Powell. There is a good chance most of the following players will also make it - Hollands, Flanders, Graham, Davies, Jeffrey, Rosas, Markov, Sharp. The jury is still out on Fiorini and Brodie. There are more young players who have a shot including Ace, McLennan, academy kids. Of course some/most will not make it, some will leave if they can't get the opportunity. Every team has to have role players. You can't have all players top talent. Players like Lemmens, Holman, Corbett, Macpherson, Burgess provide depth when injuries hit. SUNS are now well positioned regarding the list demography and talent. The list just need to mature together. Yes some trades will happen, more picks will join, some players will be delisted (next year probably Smith, Hombsh, Murdoch, Harbrow, Townsend) but the core of 25-30 players to drive the improvement in near future is already there.

Thomas you're clutching at straws. Those back up players are back up at best. They couldn't get games at other clubs half of them and can't get games there. They won't be in your finals teams. The 10 listed plus Day and Rankin are what will give GC any success over the next few years. Not your hopeful backups

Shh ????

Did you miss Boswell’s article on Murtagh? The teammates call him “the specimen “. Patrick put on 10kg of pure muscle (only 11% fat) and is now 106kg! He is now allowed only 2 weight session per week. The article also describes his insane (flawed) diet.

There's 2 Darcy Macphersons. The one from 2019 that averaged 19 disposals, 6 tackles, 4 marks and 20+ pressure acts was easily best 22. However, the one from 2020 who had barely 11 possessions, less than 3 tackles, 2 marks and was in and out of the side is no certainty to start in 2021. IMHO, Darcy went through junior footy believing he was going to be drafted as a father-son by the Western Bulldogs. He was overlooked and the Dogs marched to a flag, one that he might have been part of considering their significant injuries, while they also had success in the VFL. Darcy's brother Ewan was similarly passed over last year, although now they are looking at him for the SSP. How much has this distracted Darcy? The emergence of Izak Rankine has put Darcy back down the pecking order. The best thing he can do is put in the performances that won him a top 5 finish in the Suns B&F. The experiment of playing him in the midfield needs to be shelved too. Just play him forward and rate him on 1%ers/pressure.

Is Darcy Macpherson no longer considered a top22 player? He's a bit of a favourite of mine and I keep expecting him to break out. This will be his age 23 season, arguably he should be coming into his prime as a feisty small forward. I know there's a good level of competition for spots in the forward line but I can't help but to think there should be role in there for Macpherson.

Much appreciated Thom, I must admit I wasn't sure about Sexton but you make some great points. Cant wait to see him in action again.

Ben Ainsworth deserves his own reply. He’s a gun and put together his first injury free season. It really shows when he can put some games together that he’s an elite player. Wait until you start to see Ainsworth, Izak Rankine and Mally Rosas together in the same forward line. If they can bring the forward defensive pressure, they’ll have the pace and skill to dismantle backlines. There are others in competition for those same spots, but those three make a mouthwatering small forward trio. Rosas is lightning fast, Rankine is super skillful, while Benny has both. All can improve their second efforts and defensive play in the forward half.

Brayden Fiorini had an injury interrupted season. He played in some big games and had a couple of mares. 2020 is behind him and he’s well in the mix. The problem for him and Will Brodie is that the club keeps bringing in inside mids and neither really has a second position to either rotate through or play in as a best 22 player. Dew’s game plan calls for flexibility, so guys like Nick Holman get a game because he can play forward or mid or tag. And they aren’t fast. Matt Rowell will need both of them to provide inside grunt to help him find space and get them into the game. It’s a deep midfield that can be better utilized with longer quarters and fewer interchanges, but they need to contribute in that secondary role to win a place in the 22.

I guarantee you that the Fox Sports Suns team for Round 1 is way off, but it says a lot that they kept Sexton in and omitted some other big names.

That's good news about Ballard - he always seemed a touch light for his position to me. I'd also include Ainsworth with Bowes and Ballard - he is a gun IMO. I also rate Fiorini very highly, though Stewy seems to have a problem with some part of his game.

Nobody has gone past Secco. He did his hammy in the preseason and just wasn't the same player until later in the year. Dropping him didn't make the team better, unless you count the drawn game, but it made him better when he came back against North Melbourne with a 4 goal bag and a Brownlow vote. He was dropped after a 4 point loss to St Kilda and a 21 point loss to Richmond, neither of which were good games for him, but it is thought that he broke team rules in terms of two way defence and burning players in goal scoring positions. 19.12 from 14 games is a better goal average per game than Max King and is top 5 in the comp for small forwards. He should also be commended for his 7 goal assists, which is an underrated stat that puts the lie to Dermot Brereton's claim that he is selfish in goal scoring situations. Over his career, he has averaged a goal a game and a goal assist every 2 games. You have to go back to 2015 for the last time the Suns won a game without Alex Sexton in the team, in which time he missed 18 games (16 losses, 2 draws, 0 wins), which is the longest such streak in the current Suns list. At 27, Sexton is in his prime and will only thrive with the ever improving midfield and better weapons in the forward line. With Ben King and Sam Day in the key positions, Secco can play a crumbing role, high half forward and one out in the goalsquare. With Izak Rankine, Ben Ainsworth, Mally Rosas, Ace Paul Oea, Darcy Macpherson, Sean Lemmens and Sam Flanders battling it out for small forward positions, you then have Nick Holman, Josh Corbett, Jacob Townsend, Joel Jeffrey and Jy Farrar all playing for Sexton's spot, not to mention Will Brodie wanting to crack into the midfield rotation in a mid-forward pattern with David Swallow and Hugh Greenwood. Wait until Elijah Hollands makes the grade. It is a relevant question because 2020 wasn't Secco's year and the talent coming up behind him is strong. However, he's an onfield leader and the best avenue to goal over the past three season under Dew. With King getting amongst the goals and the side becoming more competitive, the role for Alex Sexton is clear: kick goals, win games and lead by example.

Serious question to Sun's fans and those who know better than I, is Sexton really in their best 22? He had moments last year but he seemed abit slow. Finished well but maybe they've gone past him?

Nice list. You can't have everyone's favourites and you've limited your choices to the 10 most likely, but 2 blokes who nobody should sleep on are Jack Bowes and Charlie Ballard. Jack is the calibre of Scott Pendlebury and Luke Hodge, but has had to play roles out of position for the team. Look for him to star off halfback and get up into the midfield, particularly with the longer games and reduced interchanges. Chuckie has bulked up in the offseason - don't forget that he did his shoulder in the last preseason - so his ability to play the big opponents has increased. Watched video of him wrestling with 10 year veteran Sam Day this week - he's grown to 197cm and is almost as big, which was unthinkable in 2018 when he debuted. He was actually a 180cm pacy outside mid for SA U17s, but grew 14cm in a year and became a bit uncoordinated, so he slid from an early draft prospect to a third rounder, despite being the only defender in the SANFL that year to keep young Jack Lukosius goalless. He's arrow up!

I think you've pretty much named the most likely players to succeed over the next few years, but that doesn't mean there aren't more players to step up. For starters, you left out Holman, who Dew never leaves out. You've also omitted Harbrow, Hombsch, Brodie, Sharp, Corbett, Townsend, Powell, Lemmens, Burgess, Murdoch, Farrar and Graham, all of whom have played over the past seasons and will be gunning for spots. Suns yet to debut, as well as Davies and Hollands, are Jeffrey (rated first round talent), Rosas (rated early rounds talent), McLennan (late first round pick), Fyfe and Nichols (rated within the first 3 rounds), Irish convert Towey, plus greenhorn ruck forward Conroy. Paddy Murtagh is a 196cm 96kg tall forward under development in the VFL. Ace Paul Oea is an experienced NEAFL veteran who came through every level with Connor Budarick, but was held back a year because being from PNG he didn't need to go through the Draft - he played for the Suns reserves in the AFL hub scratch matches and is the players' tip to get a starting the AFL this year. Rory Thompson is the forgotten man of the Suns, returning from an ACL partial tear in the opposite knee that he previously had a full ACL tear reconstruction. He was playing scratch matches in August with a view to return to the AFL team late in the season. If he can get on the field, no forward in the AFL presents any fears for him. If Rory's year is called over within the next 5 weeks - or the Suns lose a player for the season - undrafted key forward prospect Kaine Baldwin, 195cm 90kg is training with the Suns Academy U19s and has enrolled in Uni on the Gold Coast. He wasn't drafted after injuring his ACL in the SANFL, but is tracking to be back on the field in April or May for the NAB LEague and possibly a VFL call-up. If he isn't snapped up in the SSP before Round 1, he can still be claimed in the MSD (if he nominates) or else he goes back into the national draft.

Can't argue with that too much Doran. Personally, I'd have King and Anderson above the two guys you have above them, but that is nitpicking. The key for the Suns, and other teams of course, is how the bottom half of their list perform. So, as well as your 11-14 of Lukosius, Day, Rankine and Swallow; the next group of Ainsworth, Ballard, Bowes, Fiorini, Powell, Markov, Buderick, Atkins, Flanders and MacPherson (and possibly Hollands and Davies as well) need to step up. If they do, it should be a positive season.