There weren’t many positives for the Gold Coast Suns to take out of season 2021 as they finished 16th on the ladder, with only seven wins for the season. They may have won four of the first 11 games, but ten of their 15 losses in season 2021 were by four goals or more, which was unacceptable.
They were unfortunate to lose their co-captain Jarrod Witts in Round 3 after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
To be eligible, it’s essential that each player selected featured in at least five games in season 2021. Here are the five players and an honourable mention selected, which the Suns could least afford to lose based on their performances in season 2021.
Honourable mention: Will Powell
Powell had a reasonable season for the Suns in 2021. He featured in every game and averaged the third most intercepts on average of any Suns player with an average of exactly six intercepts per game.
The fact that he averaged the fourth highest disposal efficiency percentage with an average of 80.86 percentage disposal efficiency per game indicated that he used the ball well. He finished second in the best and fairest for the Suns in season 2021, which shows that he is highly thought of by the coaching staff.
5. Jack Lukosius
Lukosius had the third most metres gained on average of any player in the competition in season 2021, with an average of 619.95 metres gained per game. He averaged the second most inside 50s of any Suns player in season 2021 with an average of exactly four per game.
4. Brandon Ellis
Ellis featured in 18 of 22 games for the Suns, despite the fact that in his 17th and 18th games in season 2021 he had a combined total of ten disposals, due to suffering a hamstring injury in Round 18 and again in Round 21. He was forced to be replaced by the substitute.
He proved to be a difficult player to replace as he averaged the third highest average disposals of any Suns player in season 2021 with an average of 23.50 per game. The Suns were a better team with him in it. He was a bit of a barometer for the Suns as they won all seven games when he was in the team.
3. Sam Collins
Collins was a pivotal part of the Suns structure. He had the most intercepts on average of any Suns player as he averaged exactly seven per game on average in the 19 games that he featured in. He had the third highest disposal efficiency percentage of any Suns player with an average of 82.07 per cent per game.
All of Gold Coast’s seven wins came in the 19 games that he featured in. Along with that, he averaged the third most contested marks of any Suns player with an average of 1.26 per game.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
2. Hugh Greenwood
Greenwood featured in 15 of 22 games for the Suns in season 2021 and one of the 15 games that he featured in he suffered a knee injury and didn’t get a disposal in Round 17. When taking that into account, it’s incredible that he averaged the second most contested possessions of any Gold Coast player, with an average of 12.07 per game.
What was even more incredible was that he averaged the most clearances of any Suns player in season 2021 with an average of 6.20 per game. He also averaged the most centre clearances of any Suns player with an average of 2.27 centre clearances per game, which was more than Touk Miller!
Last but not least, Greenwood worked hard defensively, as he incredibly averaged the most tackles per game of anyone in the competition with an average of 8.6 per game, inclusive of Round 17, where he had none!
1. Touk Miller
Miller was a shining light for the Suns. He had 30 disposals or more in 16 games in a row, from Round 6 onwards. Unfortunately, he missed one of the two Q-Clashes, in Round 9, due to suspension and the Suns felt his absence, as they were obliterated by 73 points.
He has gained the respect that he deserves and has been rewarded with plenty of media hype surrounding his consistency. He led the Suns average score involvements with an average of 5.57 score involvements per game in season 2021.
Miller received recognition for his stellar season in 2021 as he was named on the interchange bench of the 2021 AFL All Australian team.
Seymorebutts
Guest
Seven wins is still an improvement on where they were a couple of years ago. What do people expect? They get a few high draft picks and they win the flag 18 months later? Sure, nobody is interested in actually watching them play, either on TV or live, but you cant knock them as an organization or team. If they get 8 or 9 wins next year they have done great. Maybe the year after that they might be a real chance for finals. Tigers were a joke for 37 years.. Melbourne for nearly 60... My only beef with them is the money they receive from the AFL, if they cant stand on their own two feet, (which clearly they cant) then they should have the license revoked and a team put in Tasmania. But performance wise its a bit hard to knock them.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
The Suns biggest frailty in defence has been the ability to shut down speedy medium forwards like Dusty, De Goey, Robbie Gray etc. Wil Powell is becoming that player for small forwards, but the search goes on for an elite medium back.
JD
Roar Rookie
Midfielder unless there is something exceptional they bring are more easily replacable than others. So Ellis can be one of the best but can be replacable just as your counter argument with regards to Greenwood stated. Touk is the hardest mid at GC to replace as his overall game coupled with 2 game running. A running defender is also generally replacable as well.
George13
Guest
First 4 players and order were pretty easy for me. 1. Witts Suns had no fix for Witts injury. By the end of Round 3 Suns were blessed with 8 serious knee injuries (5 ACLs) and were left with no ruck options. Suns season was basically done. It is pretty indicative that all Suns wins after Witts injury came against teams with average ruck (except Magpies). A decent backup is a key target for the off-season unless the club believes that Moyle and possibly Conroy can step in while Witts recovers (which I doubt). CCJ playing forward/ruck would be a nice addition. 2. Collins Great leadership and organizational skills in the back. He struggled a bit this year due to injuries. When he did not play Suns were a half team. 3. Miller His hard 2-way running is fantastic, improved his kicking. Great leader, example for kids in the middle. 4. King 47 goals while playing most of the season as a sole key forward was fantastic. He did look tired late. Hard to imagine not having Ben on the team. 5. The last one is a hard one for me. I go with Ellis. IMO, he actually plays better now than with Tigers. Added responsibility and educating kids suits him. Luko and Greenwood are valid choices too. It could be even Powell or Ballard.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Jack Lukosius is a generational talent. He would have gone pick 1 in most drafts, but in his year there were some brilliant players and he still went pick 2. The thing with Jack is that he plays unlike any 195cm player in the history of the game. They said he would be the next Nick Riewoldt (maybe he will) but the Suns have really tried to find positions for him to be able to really get involved in the game and learn to make decisions on the run. After 60 games - 10 more then Nick after 3 seasons - Luko has moved from 3rd tall forward to 3rd tall back to roaming 7th defender to wingman and gotten better at every stage of his career. Doran writes good, thoughtful analytical articles that are backed up by the data. Luko had the second highest metres gained number in the whole AFL and 3rd most marks of any player and he's just in his 3rd year. If he got homesick and demanded a trade home it would have been a totally wasted 3 years to lose him before he's shown his full potential. I do agree with you on Witts and King for the reasons you said, but if you'd watch Ellis' games closely you'd see that he was one of the best performers week in week out. He'll poll well in the Brownlow and take some votes from Touk, especially his 41 touch, 6 mark, 4 clearance game in the comeback win against GWS after he starred in the win against Richmond. If he didn't get injured early against the Dogs it might have been a Suns upset, with the team also losing all 4 games he missed. Greenwood I am a fan of, however, Fiorini stepped in and did that role brilliantly. Brodie was also there as a backup. Fitting all three in the same team is impossible, so one or maybe even two will go. I only hope that Greenwood can leverage his lack of footy with longevity because there are a lot of young bulls coming through this midfield and the old blokes are going to have to start playing reduced time in the middle to accommodate them or else get farmed off. I'd also mount a case for Dave Swallow. The players play for him and he is one of the hardest at the ball every game. It is sad that the day is coming when the midfield goes past him and he probably doesn't have a best position, but we already know he's never going to play 400 games, so while he's still best 22 and doing the small things he's vital.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Chol came up in junior footy 70kms up the road from Carrara and is a big chance of coming home to Queensland. He is an unrestricted free agent, so he chooses his destination and negotiates his salary and all the Tigers can do is try to convince him to stay. Cal Coleman-Jones was captain of the 2017 South Australian U18s team, featuring Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Charlie Ballard. The Suns have almost as many South Australians on their list as Port and the Crows, with SA coaches and the club chairman, Tony Cochrane. They will roll out the welcome mat to another SA boy, especially one from Sturt, where Ballard and Sam Day come from, as well as being the club where Cochrane came up in sports administration. Either or both will do fine. Shouldn't cost too much either.
Parklane7835
Roar Rookie
How will Mabior Chol and Callum Coleman Jones from Richmond will go for the Gold Coast Suns next year 2022?
Papa Joe
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I agree with that JD. Suns can least afford to lose their quality KP guys, as they have limited backup.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
I’m really hoping the Suns have a good season next year with injuries. If they can keep their best 22 fit and healthy for the majority of the time I think they could jump up the ladder significantly.
JD
Roar Rookie
The title, players least afford to lose. Not best performers this year. Number 1 is Witts, as shown by the deficiencies shown as he didn't play all year. Gold Coast have no other ruckman that could replace him. In top 5 is Ben King. 40+ goals in a team with few other tall fwd options. Collins agree and Touk Miller agree. And Greenwood agree, provides leadership, maturity, doing the 1% to show others the way. Loukisos and Ellis no.